NBA Betting Schedule – Celtics and Heat highlight weekend
The Boston Celtics and New Jersey Nets collide for the second time this week on Saturday, while also highlighting the NBA betting schedule is a pair of East meets West matchups.
The Celtics and Nets met up in Boston on Wednesday night when the Celtics rolled to a 118-86 win. Boston was a 9.5-point favorite on the NBA odds and covered the spread for only the second time in their last seven games. Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 22 points and Rajon Rondo was an all-around force with 11 points, seven rebounds, and 12 assists. Devin Harris led the Nets with 17 points, while Brook Lopez, Ryan Anderson, and Keyon Dooling all had 13 points. Anderson made his second straight start in place of the injured Yi Jianlian, and he should remain there for the next few weeks while Jianlian recovers from a broken finger.
The Miami Heat play on back-to-back nights this weekend and they get started on Saturday in Houston against the Rockets. Miami got the last couple days off after edging Milwaukee 102-99 as a 6-point underdog on Wednesday night. Dwyane Wade had a poor shooting night, hitting only 5-of-20 shots for 17 points, but Daequan Cook picked up the slack with a team-high 24 points. The Rockets have been off since Tuesday when a shorthanded Houston squad lost to the Lakers 105-100 as a 4-point underdog. With Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest both sidelined, little-used Von Wafer led the Rockets with a season-high 23 points. Carl Landry added 21 points, and Yao Ming had 19 points and 17 rebounds.
The Heat and Rockets faced off in Miami back in November when Houston came out on top 107-98 as a 3.5-point favorite. Ming led Miami with 28 points and 12 rebounds, while Wade had 23 points for the Heat.
Also on Saturday division leaders clash when the Orlando Magic take on the Denver Nuggets. The Southeast-leading Magic were riding a five-game winning streak heading into a Friday night date with the Lakers. Denver was in tough versus Phoenix on Thursday, as they try to hold off Portland in the Northwest Division standings.
Orlando and Denver met up twice last season with each winning and covering the spread once at home. The Nuggets have owned the Magic in Denver for years with five straight home victories and covers over the Magic. The last time Orlando won in Denver was 2002.
