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Wednesday’s Tip Sheet

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

Game of the Night: Pelicans at Lakers (-5 ½, 238 ½) – 10:35 PM EST

Sixty games are in the books for the Lakers (29-31 SU, 25-33-2 ATS), who limp home following a pair of road losses at New Orleans and Memphis. Los Angeles sits three games behind San Antonio for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, as the Lakers dropped to 9-16 since upsetting the Warriors on Christmas. In Monday’s 110-105 setback at Memphis, Brandon Ingram posted 32 points and LeBron James registered another triple-double, but the Lakers fell to 1-6 in the last seven road contests.

The Pelicans (27-35 SU, 30-31-1 ATS) rallied from 13-point deficit on Monday to get within one point in the final seconds against the 76ers, but New Orleans fell short in a 111-110 home defeat. Anthony Davis was limited to 20 minutes of action for New Orleans and scored 18 points, while Jrue Holiday paced the Pelicans with 22 points. New Orleans was dreadful from downtown by converting on only 5-of-28 attempts, but the Pelicans managed a cover as two-point underdogs to pick up their fifth consecutive ATS win as a home ‘dog.

These two Western Conference squads are hooking up for the second time in five days as the Pelicans cruised past the Lakers, 128-115 last Saturday as 6 ½-point home underdogs. New Orleans captured this victory without Davis in the lineup, highlighted by a 42-point first quarter, as Holiday and former Laker Julius Randle combined for 51 points in the win. The Pelicans have lost six of their last nine games away from the Big Easy, but have covered five times in this stretch.

Blazing the Trail

Since losing on a back-to-back set to Oklahoma City and Dallas, the Trail Blazers (37-23 SU, 34-26 ATS) have captured three straight road games since the All-Star break. Portland has won all three contests by double-digits at Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and Cleveland, while improving to 13-15 away from the Moda Center. In Monday’s 123-110 triumph over the Cavaliers, Portland jumped out to a 71-48 halftime lead before Cleveland trimmed the deficit to two in the fourth quarter. C.J. McCollum paced the Blazers with 35 points in his return to his home state, as Portland moved to 7-2 on the road against Eastern foes.

Portland catches an unrested Boston squad tonight as the Celtics (37-24 SU, 31-30 ATS) are coming off their worst loss of the season at Toronto on Tuesday. The Raptors crushed the Celtics, 118-95 as Boston was limited to 63 points in the final three quarters. Boston is winless since the All-Star break at 0-3, as the Celtics were swept on their three-game road trip which included losses at Milwaukee and Chicago.

The Celtics have struggled on the second of a back-to-back set this season by going 4-5 SU and 3-6 ATS, while eclipsing the OVER in five straight home contests. Portland took care of Boston in the first matchup at the Moda Center in November, 100-94 as two-point favorites to avenge a sweep by the Celtics last season.

Fighting for Seeding

There is still six weeks until the playoffs start, but the Jazz and Clippers are currently in a good position to qualify for the postseason. Utah (33-26 SU, 31-26-2 ATS) rebounded from a pair of road losses at Golden State and Oklahoma City to blow out Dallas on Saturday, 125-109 as 11 ½-point favorites. Donovan Mitchell and Ricky Rubio each posted 25 points for the Jazz, who avenged a 50-point loss at Dallas in mid-November.

The Jazz welcome in the Clippers (34-28 SU, 34-28 ATS), who rebounded from a 27-point loss at Denver to beat the Mavericks, 121-112 on Monday. Although L.A. played with no rest, the Clippers received 32 points off the bench from Montrezl Harrell to improve to 3-6 in the last nine home games. L.A. has struggled to beat Utah over the years by losing five of the past six meetings, including a 129-109 home drubbing to the Jazz in mid-January as one-point favorites.

Welcome Home

February has not been a kind month to San Antonio, as the Spurs (33-29 SU, 32-29-1 ATS) have limped to a 2-7 record, including a 1-7 mark on their annual rodeo road trip. After getting squeezed by Toronto last Friday in a three-point setback, the Spurs were stunned as nine-point favorites in a blowout loss at New York followed by a 16-point defeat at Brooklyn on Monday.

San Antonio was held to under 100 points for the first time in 14 games, while the Spurs failed to cash the OVER at Brooklyn following seven consecutive OVERS. Coming home will obviously benefit Gregg Popovich’s team, who has won four straight games at AT&T Center, but the Spurs are 1-5 ATS in their last six games at the Alamo since covering seven in a row from mid-December through early January.

The Pistons (29-30 SU, 28-29-2 ATS) travel to Texas looking to stay red-hot after holding off the Pacers on Monday, 113-109. Detroit improved to 7-1 the last eight games since squandering a 25-point lead in a 111-101 loss to the Clippers on February 2. The Pistons have been lighting up the scoreboard during this stretch by hitting the OVER in six straight games, while putting up at least 110 points in each of those contests.

San Antonio took care of Detroit in the first matchup at Little Caesars Arena on January 7 in a 119-107 triumph as 2 ½-point favorites. The Pistons built an early 12-point advantage before the Spurs outscored Detroit, 50-29 to close out the first half. Each of the last three matchups in San Antonio have finished UNDER the total, while the Spurs won each time while not busting the 97-point mark.

Freezing Point

The Southeast division title may be claimed by a team with a losing record as the top three squads are separated by 1 ½ games. The Heat (26-33 SU, 30-29 ATS) sit in third place of the Southeast after losing eight of 10 games in February, including back-to-back home defeats to the Pistons and Suns. Phoenix snapped a 17-game skid in Monday’s 124-121 triumph at Miami, as the Heat allowed 72 second half points on their way to a sixth consecutive loss at American Airlines Arena.

Guess who’s coming to town on Wednesday? Yep, it’s the defending champion Warriors (43-17 SU, 25-34-1 ATS), who improved to 12-1 in the last 13 road contests after pulling away from the Hornets, 121-110 on Monday. Golden State cashed as 8 ½-point favorites and won in spite of Stephen Curry’s 5-of-18 shooting performance for 16 points. DeMarcus Cousins compiled a double-double by scoring 24 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, as the Warriors moved to 10-2 away from Oracle Arena against Eastern Conference foes.

In the last matchup between these clubs, the Warriors edged the Heat in Oakland, 120-118 on February 10. Miami built an early 19-point advantage, but Golden State rallied back led by Kevin Durant’s 39 points. The Warriors failed to cash as 13 ½-point favorites, as the Heat have covered in five of the previous seven meetings.

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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