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Wednesday’s Tip Sheet

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

Game of the Night: Kings at Clippers – 10:35 PM EST

Two of the surprising, yet forgotten teams in the Pacific Division behind the Warriors and Lakers hook up at Staples Center. Los Angeles (19-14 SU, 19-14 ATS) has covered three consecutive games since a 1-6 ATS run, as the Clippers fell short in their last contest at Golden State on Sunday. The Warriors edged the Clippers, 129-127 as 10 ½-point underdogs, managing the cover in spite of Stephen Curry’s go-ahead basket in the final second. The Clippers shot 54% from the floor and were aided by Lou Williams off the bench with 25 points in his third game back since missing four contests with a hamstring strain.

Sacramento (18-15 SU, 21-12 ATS) bounced back from a 19-point loss to Oklahoma City to capture the final two games of its homestand in comeback fashion against Memphis and New Orleans. The Kings erased a 13-point halftime deficit to squeeze by the Grizzlies, 102-99, led by Buddy Hield’s 28 points. Sacramento overcame another double-digit hole against New Orleans on Sunday by rallying for a 122-117 triumph to improve to 5-1 ATS in the past six games at Golden 1 Center.

In their first matchup in Sacramento last month, the Clippers outgunned the Kings, 133-121 to cash as two-point road favorites and easily eclipse the OVER of 236. L.A. knocked down 55% of its field goal attempts, while Tobias Harris paced the Clippers with 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting. The Clippers have owned the Kings of late by winning nine of the past 10 matchups since February 2016, while L.A. has taken each of the last three meetings at Staples Center by double-digits.

Saddle Up

After dropping three games by 30 points or more in a seven-day stretch from late November through early December, San Antonio has rebounded nicely. The Spurs (18-16 SU, 18-15-1 ATS) have won seven of their last nine games, which includes a 6-1 record at AT&T Center. Although San Antonio lost in its last trip to the court on Saturday at Houston, the Spurs own a 7-0 ATS record in their last seven victories.

San Antonio welcomes in Denver for the first time this season, as the Nuggets (21-10 SU, 19-12 ATS) had their four-game winning streak snapped in a 21-point setback to the Clippers on Saturday. The Nuggets have dropped three straight contests away from Pepsi Center, including defeats to the Hawks and Hornets to wrap up their recent road swing. Last season, the home team grabbed all four meetings, while the Nuggets haven’t won in San Antonio since March 2012.

Back on Track

The Nets (16-19 SU, 18-17 ATS) put together a season-high seven-game winning streak before falling to Indiana on Friday. Brooklyn rebounded by holding off Phoenix on Sunday, 111-103, but failed to cash as 9 ½-point favorites as the Suns outscored the Nets, 29-20 in the fourth quarter. The Nets had covered eight consecutive games before suffering back-to-back ATS losses, while dropping to 4-4 ATS this season in the favorite role.

Brooklyn hosts Charlotte as the Hornets (16-16 SU, 17-15 ATS) look to improve on a 4-9 road record this season. Boston routed Charlotte on Sunday, 119-103 to snap a modest two-game winning streak, while the Hornets slipped to 1-5 ATS the past six games overall. The Hornets and Nets are hooking up for the first time this season as Charlotte grabbed two of three matchups last season.

The Heat is On

Utah led Miami, 40-15 after one quarter on December 12 and ultimately blew out the Heat, 111-84. Since that setback, the Heat (16-16 SU, 18-14 ATS) haven’t lost a game as they have won five in a row, all in the underdog role. After Miami defeated Houston and Milwaukee at home, the Heat rolled past the Magic on Sunday, 115-91 as 2 ½-point underdogs. Tyler Johnson and Justise Winslow combined to score 47 points, while the Heat knocked down 16 three-pointers.

The Raptors (25-10 SU, 16-19 ATS) head to American Airlines Arena looking to bounce back from a 25-point defeat at Philadelphia on Saturday. Granted, Toronto played without Kawhi Leonard on the second of a back-to-back set, but the Raptors could only muster 42 second half points after posting 59 before halftime. The Raptors fell to 1-4 ATS the past five games, while dropping their third consecutive road game after picking up blowout wins at the Clippers and Warriors. Toronto held off Miami in its first matchup, 125-115, but the Heat cashed as 12-point underdogs, marking Miami’s fifth straight cover in the series.

Eastern Struggles

The Wizards and Pistons are both mired in cold stretches as they try to move up in the Eastern Conference. Detroit (15-16 SU, 15-15-1 ATS) has lost nine of its past 11 games, while Washington (13-21 SU, 12-22 ATS) has dropped seven of its last nine contests following a three-game winning streak to begin December.

Washington has been terrible on the road all season long (4-15), as the Wizards are in the midst of six-game highway skid since beating New York and Atlanta earlier this month away from Capital One Arena. The latest setback came in Sunday’s 105-89 defeat at Indiana as 10 ½-point underdogs, marking a 1-8 ATS record for Washington the last nine games.

The Pistons picked up a solid victory at Minnesota in overtime last Wednesday, but Detroit’s offense has been nowhere to be found the last two games. Detroit produced 86 points in a 12-point defeat last Friday at Charlotte, while getting shocked by Atlanta on Sunday afternoon, 98-95 as 9 ½-point home favorites. These two teams are meeting for the first time this season as the Wizards grabbed three of four matchups in 2017-18.

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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