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Preview: Hawks (44-38) at Magic (20-62)
BT Movements  ·  Line Movements
Date: February 13, 2013 7:00 PM EDT
  

The Atlanta Hawks have had only one winning streak in 2013 but appear to have a good chance at another one given their recent dominance of the woeful Orlando Magic.

The Magic, though, will be seeking back-to-back wins for the first time in nearly two months as they host the Hawks on Wednesday night.

Atlanta's lone win streak since the end of December was a string of three victories Jan. 21-25. That lack of consistency helped fuel rumors that the Hawks (28-22) were looking to deal leading scorer Josh Smith.

Smith and his teammates managed to put that talk aside Monday and hold on for a 105-101 victory in Dallas. Atlanta had dropped four of six overall and eight of nine on the road.

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"Any time you go on the road and get a win, it's always big," coach Larry Drew said. "We've had our ups and downs, as most teams do. But we have not fragmented when that has happened."

Smith had a team-best 26 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. Over the past nine games, he's averaged 20.3 points, 10.3 boards and 5.2 assists - all well above his season marks.

"I'm just trying to focus on getting better as an individual on the court," Smith said. "As long as I'm with the Atlanta Hawks, I can only focus on how to make this team better."

Smith averaged 11.0 points on 9-of-24 shooting in two meetings with the Magic (15-36) this season, but Atlanta won both while limiting Orlando to an average of 76.0 points.

The Hawks have won six straight against the Magic, a streak which began with the decisive Game 6 of the teams' opening-round playoff series in 2011. Atlanta has won the last eight regular-season meetings, holding Orlando to 79.4 points per game on 38.7 percent shooting.

This time, the Hawks will face a Magic team coming off the end of a 12-game skid, its longest in nine seasons. Orlando allowed a 13-point lead in the third quarter get cut to four early in the fourth Sunday but hung on for a 110-104 home victory over Portland.

"When teams made runs over the last X-amount of games, we kind of shut down a little bit," said Jameer Nelson, who had a career-high 15 assists and 10 points. "Tonight we didn't, we were up and they cut it to three or four. We just kept playing our game."

J.J. Redick led the way with 22 points in his return from a sore right shoulder. Nikola Vucevic had 17 points and 19 rebounds - his second-highest total over two NBA seasons - for his Eastern Conference-best 29th double-double.

It was Orlando's third victory in 26 games since its last winning streak, a season-best four-game run Dec. 14-19.

"You always want to see the fruits of your labor and in this business it's wins and losses and it's just good for the guys' psyche overall," coach Jacque Vaughn said. "But we've stayed firm in our approach and guys have been unbelievable throughout this process.

"I think they see their hard work and the lessons that they're learning along the way, they'll add up for us."

Nelson has 28 assists over the past two games but has totaled three in two meetings with Atlanta this season.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2013
The Associated Press
All Rights Reserved

 CURRENT LAS VEGAS LINE
 Team  ML   SPR   O/U 
 ATL  -145   -2.5   200 
 ORL  +125   +2.5   
LAS VEGAS LINE MOVEMENTS

 CURRENT SPORTSBOOK LINE
 Team  ML   SPR   O/U 
 ATL  -140   -2.5   200 
 ORL  +120   +2.5   
OFFSHORE LINE MOVEMENTS

 BETTING TRENDS
 Team  ML   SPR   O/U 
 ATL  70%   71%   68% 
 ORL  30%   29%   32% 
BT MOVEMENTS

 NBA HEAD TO HEAD
 Dec 12, 2012  Score  ATS Results 
  ATL « 86 Cover: 1 
  ORL 80 Under: 166 
 Tools:   Recaps
 Nov 19, 2012  Score  ATS Results 
  ORL 72 Cover: 1 
  ATL « 81 Under: 153 
 Tools:   Recaps
 Apr 13, 2012  Score  ATS Results 
  ATL « 109 Cover: 26 
  ORL 81 Over: 190 
 Tools:   Recaps
 Apr 22, 2011  Score  ATS Results 
  ORL 84 Under: 172 
  ATL « 88 Cover: 5.5 
 Tools:   Recaps

 NBA PREVIEWS
 Wednesday, Feb 13
 
  •  Hawks at Magic
7:05 PM EDT
  •  Spurs at Cavaliers
7:05 PM EDT
  •  Bobcats at Pacers
7:05 PM EDT
  •  Bulls at Celtics
7:35 PM EDT
  •  Nuggets at Nets
7:35 PM EDT
  •  Raptors at Knicks
7:35 PM EDT
  •  Wizards at Pistons
7:35 PM EDT
  •  Trail Blazers at Hornets
8:05 PM EDT
  •  76ers at Bucks
8:05 PM EDT
  •  Jazz at Timberwolves
8:05 PM EDT
  •  Kings at Mavericks
8:35 PM EDT
  •  Rockets at Clippers
10:35 PM EDT
 
 
 
  
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