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Tuesday’s Tip Sheet

VegasInsider Staff
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
5 minute read
ATS Rankings | Totals Report | Injuries

Game of the Night: Blazers at Thunder – 8:05 PM EST

The Northwest division has proven to be the toughest from top to bottom in the league this season. The two teams sitting tied for second place behind Denver meet tonight in Oklahoma City as both play without rest. The Thunder (28-18 SU, 25-21 ATS) return home after pounding the hapless Knicks on Monday afternoon at Madison Square Garden, 127-109 as nine-point favorites. OKC shot over 60% from the floor in the first half, while Paul George paced the Thunder with 31 points to continue a career season in which he is averaging 26.8 points per game.

The Blazers (29-19 SU, 26-22 ATS) face another tough road task inside the Northwest tonight after rallying past the Jazz on Monday, 109-104. Portland erased a seven-point halftime deficit by outscoring Utah, 39-28 in the third quarter, while beating the Jazz for the first time in three matchups this season. Damian Lillard burned the Jazz for 26 points, while Portland limited Utah to 40% shooting from the floor to pick up their third consecutive victory.

Both teams own winning records playing the second of a back-to-back this season as the Blazers are 4-3 SU/ATS, while the Thunder have compiled a 4-2 SU and 3-3 ATS mark in this situation. Portland swept the four-game season series from Oklahoma City in 2017-18, but the Thunder captured the first meeting this season at the Moda Center, 111-109 as a one-point underdog earlier this month. George and Russell Westbrook combined to score 68 points to end an eight-game skid in Portland dating back to October 2014.

Oklahoma City begins a three-game homestand, which includes visits from New Orleans on Thursday and Milwaukee on Sunday. The Thunder are riding a 6-1 OVER run the last seven games overall, while hitting the OVER in six of the past seven home contests. Portland has cashed in nine of the previous 12 games, which includes a 4-1 ATS record in the last five road affairs.

Crown Concerns

The Kings (24-23 SU, 27-20 ATS) continue a six-game homestand tonight after getting routed by the Nets on Monday, 123-94. Sacramento was held to nine points in the fourth quarter, while hitting the UNDER for the eighth consecutive game. The Kings have scored less than 100 points twice on this road trip, as Sacramento has lost six of the past seven games away from Golden 1 Center dating back to mid-December.

Sacramento heads north of the border to Toronto trying to improve on a 3-6 SU and 2-7 ATS record with no rest. The Raptors (35-13 SU, 21-27 ATS) moved to 20-4 at Scotiabank Arena following Saturday’s 119-90 blowout of the Grizzlies as 10 ½-point favorites. Toronto ended a three-game ATS slide by putting together a monstrous third quarter effort as the Raptors outscored the Grizzlies, 45-14 to take a 38-point lead. Danny Green drilled eight three-pointers for Toronto, who played the second straight game without leading scorer Kawhi Leonard, who is listed as OUT tonight.

The Kings beat the Raptors four consecutive times from November 2015 through November 2016, but Toronto has won each of the past three matchups. When these teams hooked up in Sacramento back in November, the Raptors held off the Kings, 114-105 to barely cash as 8 ½-point favorites. The Raptors outrebounded the Kings, 53-31 in the win, while Leonard and Serge Ibaka each posted double-doubles in the victory.

Texas Two-Step?

The Clippers (25-21 SU, 25-21 ATS) suffered through a miserable homestand by going 0-4, which included back-to-back blowout losses to the Jazz and Warriors. Los Angeles snapped a five-game skid in Sunday’s 103-95 triumph at San Antonio as 9 ½-point underdogs, while limiting a team to less than 100 points in a road win for the first time since early November at Orlando. The Clippers beat the Spurs for the first time in three meetings, as L.A. hit the UNDER for the eighth time in the past 10 games.

Los Angeles remains in the Lone Star State tonight for a meeting in Dallas with the struggling Mavericks (20-26 SU, 27-19 ATS). Dallas dropped to a miserable 4-20 on the highway following a pair of losses at Indiana and Milwaukee, but the Mavs managed a cover as 11-point underdogs in Monday’s 116-106 setback to the Bucks. Playing without rest has not been a situation to support Rick Carlisle’s squad, as the Mavericks have compiled an 0-7 SU and 3-4 ATS mark on the second of a back-to-back this season.

The Mavs are significantly better at home than on road, as Dallas owns a solid 16-6 mark at American Airlines Center. However, Dallas has lost three of the past four at home, including recent close defeats to San Antonio and Golden State. The home team has captured the first two meetings this season, while both contests finished OVER the total. The Clippers are seeking their first victory in Dallas since November 2016 as the home squad has won each of the past seven meetings.

Let’s Do It Again

The Timberwolves and Suns are hooking up for the second time in three days as the teams shift out to Phoenix tonight. In Sunday’s contest at the Target Center, Minnesota (22-24 SU, 23-23 ATS) rallied for a 116-114 triumph, but the Wolves failed to cash as 12-point favorites. Derrick Rose came off the bench to pace the Wolves with 31 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns scored 30 points and pulled down 12 rebounds as Minnesota was aided by hitting 32 free throws.

Phoenix (11-37 SU, 22-26 ATS) is back at home after going winless on its four-game road swing, as the Suns are 8-2 ATS in the past 10 away contests. The Suns had dropped six consecutive home games from December 28 through January 6, but Phoenix is fresh off back-to-back home underdog wins over Sacramento and Denver.

These teams are meeting for the third time this season as the Suns took care of the Wolves in the first matchup in the Valley in mid-December, 107-99 as 7 ½-point underdogs. This is the 13th time this season that two teams are playing a home-and-home set, as our industry friends at VSIN note that clubs losing the first matchup are 10-2 SU and 9-3 ATS in the second affair.

You can reach Kevin Rogers via e-mail at rogers@vegasinsider.com

Kevin Rogers can be followed on Twitter at virogers.

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