NBA: MLK THREE-PACK
The day long activity of NBA action marches on with three great games, the last two on TNT including Cleveland at the L.A. Lakers.
Denver at Houston
Denver is a three-point underdog with a Total of 194. Game begins 2 pm ET.
The Houston Rockets (25-16, 19-22 ATS) are trying to win for the third time in four games without two of their stars.
Tracy McGrady has missed the last three games as he rests his chronically sore left knee for two weeks, and Ron Artest’s right ankle has sidelined him for four straight games.
That means the pressure falls to Yao Ming to pick up the slack, which he certainly did in their last game, going 12-for-12 from the field to set a franchise record and finishing with 26 points and 10 rebounds in beating Miami at home, 93-86 as three-point favorites.
The win raises the Rockets record at home to 13-5, yet they are just 7-11 ATS and come into this encounter 5-13 ATS after a game where they covered the spread.
Denver (27-14, 22-18-1 ATS) concluded their longest home stand of the season with a 5-2 (4-3 ATS) record, after they lost to Orlando by 18 points.
The Nuggets shot just 36.5% (31-for-85) from the field and matched their lowest point total of the season with 88. They will seek to quickly rebound and are 11-2 ATS in road games after a blowout loss by 15 points or more over the last three seasons.
Phoenix at Boston
Boston is an eight-point favorite with Total of 203.5. Game begins at 8 pm ET.
It appears Boston (33-9, 22-20 ATS) has turned its season back around, with four consecutive wins after losing seven of nine.
Defeating Toronto and New Jersey each twice might not qualify as a resurgence, nevertheless it’s a very good starting point. The Celtics are 20-2 and 13-9 ATS at home and 11-3 ATS at TD Banknorth Garden after playing three consecutive games as a favorite this season.
Phoenix (22-15, 13-24 ATS) began their longest road trip of the season on Sunday, sneaking by Toronto 117-113 as four point road favorites. This came on the heels of losing at home to Minnesota and the Suns are 1-6-1 ATS in their last eight outings.
Phoenix has scored more than 100 points in 17 of its last 18 games and allowed that many in 20 of the last 23. The Suns are 5-13 ATS when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
Cleveland at L.A. Lakers
The Lakers are five-point favorites with a Total of 204. Game begins at 10:30 pm ET.
The Lakers leaky defense has become a conundrum and they will look to avoid their first three-game losing streak in almost a year, preparing to take on LeBron James and Cleveland.
Los Angeles (31-8, 18-21 ATS) has surrendered 109.5 points per game in their last seven games and they have not dropped three in a row since January 23rd-27th of last season, which included a loss to Cleveland.
Los Angeles boasts the league’s top-scoring offense at 107.6 PPG, but it may have trouble against the NBA’s stingiest defense.
Cleveland (31-7) allows just 89 points a game and the Lakers are 1-8 ATS at the Staples Center after scoring 100 points or more five straight games this season. The Cavs are also tops in field goal percentage defense at 41.9%.
Cleveland has won five in a row (4-1 ATS) over L.A. by controlling the tempo, with the Lakers scoring more than 95 points just once. Cleveland is 23-2 and 20-5 when they hold opposing teams to 95 or fewer points this season. Coach Mike Brown’s club is a superb 27-11 against the spread this year.
L.A. is just 11-23 ATS after two or more consecutive losses over the last three seasons.
