Posted at 3:45 PM EST odds are subject to change.

Pinnacle -6½ -103  BET365 -6½ -110 SportsInteraction -6½ -108 888Sport -6½ -110

Dallas -6½ over Houston

8:30 PM EST. We backed the Mavericks spotting 7-points to the Clippers last night and unfortunately, we ripped up that ticket. The Mavs had a 25-point lead at one point, but could not finish the job. It happens. As disappointing as that might be, we are not going to be deterred from sticking with it and coming right back on Dallas tonight.

The Mavericks have developed a reputation in the market for playing close games, which coach Jason Kidd discussed last night, "I thought the group handled the situation with grace in the sense that things just weren't going our way but we didn't self-destruct. We stayed together and found a way." Finding a way to win is admirable, but we doubt the market cares about the Mavericks' place in the standings.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t discuss the status of Luka Doncic, who will not play tonight. Once that announcement was made, the injury chasers attacked and this line moved from the Mavs being a 9-point favorite to the deflated price you see now. We do not give a damn that Doncic is out tonight, in fact, we actually like the Mavs more at a steep discount.

This is a next man up league and just about every team has shooters on the bench just chomping at the bit to get a chance to show their stuff. The Mavs curb appeal takes a big hit with Luka out. The rest of the Mavs will have his back and they will cover this deflated price.