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Wednesday’s Tip Sheet

VegasInsider Staff
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
6 minute read
Game of the Night: Knicks at Celtics – 8:00 PM EST

Following a 2-2 west coast swing, Boston (36-15 SU, 30-19-2 ATS) is back at home for the next three games. The Celtics alternated wins and losses on the trip, starting with a one-point defeat to the Lakers, followed by 113-102 victory over the Clippers, which snapped a four-game skid. Boston couldn’t pull off the season sweep of Golden State last Saturday, but managed a cover as 11-point underdogs. The Celtics closed the trip by edging the Nuggets, 111-110 as two-point ‘dogs, led by Kyrie Irving’s 27 points and 20 points from rookie Jayson Tatum.

The Knicks (23-28 SU, 27-24 ATS) returned to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday after a lengthy seven-game road swing (thanks to the Grammys). New York ended a three-game slide by routing Phoenix last Friday and took advantage of extra rest by pulling off the four-game sweep of Brooklyn last night, 111-95. Kristaps Porzingis paced the Knicks with 28 points, while Enes Kanter posted a 20-point, 20-rebound effort to help New York improve to 6-3 within the Atlantic division, although four of those victories did come against Brooklyn.

One of the other two wins inside the division occurred on December 21 at MSG against the Celtics, 102-93 as 2 ½-point underdogs. Michael Beasley lit up Boston that night with 32 points and 12 rebounds off the bench, while the Knicks limited the Celtics to 38% shooting from the floor. However, New York has dropped four of its past five visits to TD Garden, including a 110-89 setback in October as seven-point underdogs. However, the Celtics will be without Irving, who is sidelined with a quad injury. Boston owns a 1-2 SU/ATS record without Irving in the lineup, which includes an 83-80 loss to Philadelphia in mid-January.

Love Loss

Two Eastern Conference division leaders meet up in Cleveland as LeBron James and the Cavaliers (29-20 SU, 14-34-1 ATS) look to rebound off last night’s 125-114 defeat at Detroit. Cleveland hosts Miami tonight as the Cavs have won and covered each of their past two games at home, but will be without forward Kevin Love for six-to-eight weeks with a broken left hand suffered in Tuesday’s loss. The Cavs posted a 1-7 ATS mark at home prior to victories over Indiana and Detroit at the Q, as Cleveland seeks its second victory over Miami this season after beating the Heat in November, 108-97.

Miami (29-21 SU, 23-24-3 ATS) hasn’t scored more than 95 points in four consecutive games, but the Heat are fresh off back-to-back wins over the Hornets and Mavericks. In Monday’s victory at Dallas, Hassan Whiteside led the way with 25 points and 14 rebounds, while Miami improved to 8-2 ATS in its past 10 road contests. The Heat have struggled at Quicken Loans Arena since James returned to Cleveland in 2014 as Miami has slumped to a 1-5 SU/ATS record in its past six visits to northern Ohio.

Buzzed Off

The Hornets (20-29 SU, 20-25-4 ATS) have fared well off a loss recently heading into Monday’s action at Indiana. Charlotte won seven consecutive games following a defeat but that streak came to an end in a 105-96 setback to the Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Hornets will try to get back on track with a trip to Atlanta as Steve Clifford’s squad has beaten the Hawks twice this season. These Southeast division rivals hooked up last Friday as the Hornets pulled away for a 121-110 home victory as seven-point favorites.

Atlanta (15-35 SU, 26-22-2 ATS) improved to 7-2 ATS the last nine opportunities as a home underdog after knocking off Minnesota on Monday, 105-100 as six-point ‘dogs. The Hawks have been a solid UNDER team at Philips Arena of late by cashing in eight of the past 10 opportunities, while scoring below 105 points in nine consecutive home outings. In last Friday’s 11-point setback at Charlotte, the game sailed OVER the total of 211, while snapping a nine-game UNDER run between the Hornets and Hawks dating back to October 2015.

Blazing Back

Portland (28-22 SU, 24-21-5 ATS) dropped three consecutive games earlier this month, but the Blazers have caught fire since then by winning six of their last seven contests. The latest victory came on Tuesday at Staples Center as the Blazers held off the short-handed Clippers, 104-96 to cash as 2 ½-point road favorites. Portland won in spite of shooting 37% from the floor, as Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum combined to shoot 9-of-27 and score 44 points.

The Blazers host the Bulls this evening searching for their eighth consecutive victory at the Moda Center. Chicago (18-32 SU, 29-20-1 ATS) embarks on a short three-game swing that continues to Los Angeles against the Clippers on Saturday and Monday to Sacramento.

Rookie standout Lauri Markkanen is out for the Bulls tending to a personal matter as the Bulls try to end a four-game skid. Chicago failed to beat Milwaukee for the third time this season as the Bucks ran the Bulls on Sunday, 110-96. The Bulls look to avenge a 124-120 overtime home loss to the Blazers on New Year’s Day, but Chicago has won in its past two visits to Portland.

Hoosier Home-Court Advantage

Indiana (28-23 SU, 28-23 ATS) are rolling at Bankers Life Fieldhouse of late by winning six of its past seven at home. The Pacers needed a massive rally to edge the Magic on Saturday, 114-112, but Indiana was able to pull away from Charlotte on Monday, 105-96 to cash as 1 ½-point favorites. Victor Oladipo shot 11-of-15 from the floor for 25 points, while Myles Turner put up 22 points off the bench for Indiana, who is 9-4 wince a five-game skid to close out January.

The Grizzlies (18-31 SU, 21-26-2 ATS) closed out their four-game homestand by knocking off the Suns, 120-109 as 8 ½-point favorites on Monday. Memphis takes on four Eastern Conference foes on its upcoming road trip as the Grizzlies have compiled a 4-2 ATS record in its past six in the role of a road underdog. The Grizzlies fell short against the Pacers in their first matchup at FedEx Forum in mid-November, 116-113 as three-point favorites, only the second loss Memphis has suffered against Indiana in the last eight matchups.

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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