NBA Basketball Picks: Cleveland at Houston

Do you have odds on the Cavs tonight? (AP Images)"]

A key reason why the Cleveland Cavaliers lead the Eastern Conference is their league-best home record, but no team has been hotter at home than the Houston Rockets and that's where the Cavs begin a challenging road trip as teams riding five-game winning streaks square off.

Ron Artest has averaged 20.2 points since replacing Tracy McGrady in the starting lineup on the Rockets' six-game home stand, which ends tonight. Now Artest's focus will be trying to guard LeBron James, who has been fairly quiet since Friday's 55-point outburst at Milwaukee with a combined 35 in his last two games.

The 2.5-point favored Cavs have been playing great on the road, winning seven of nine. Now they kick off a road trip in which all four games come against teams with winning records.

The Cavs beat the Rockets 99-90 on Dec. 23 for just their third win in 11 meetings since James entered the league.