Saturday's NBA matchup betting notes
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Toronto Raptors at Washington Wizards
Toronto won three of four games against Washington last season. This is their first meeting this year.
Philadelphia 76ers at New Jersey Nets
Jason Kidd has recorded six of his triple-doubles against the 76ers, including one in a 93-88 victory at Philadelphia on Nov. 3.
Minnesota Timberwolves at Memphis Grizzlies
Memphis has won eight of its last 10 against Minnesota, including five of six at home.
Dallas Mavericks at New Orleans Hornets
Dallas has not lost to New Orleans (11-6) since a 104-99 road loss on Nov. 19, 1999 in Charlotte, N.C. The Mavericks have since won 10 straight road meetings in Charlotte, New Orleans and Oklahoma City.
Charlotte Bobcats at Chicago Bulls
The Bobcats are 3-8 all-time against the Bulls and 1-5 against them at the United Center, where Chicago won both meetings last season.
Detroit Pistons at Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee (7-7) lost its final three games to Detroit last season, including a 121-95 rout at home March 25 in the most recent meeting between the teams.
Houston Rockets at Sacramento Kings
The Rockets will try to get back on track against a Kings team they swept in 2006-07. All three games were decided by six points or fewer - and two went to overtime.
(1) North Carolina (6-0 SU, 4-1-0 ATS) at Kentucky (4-1 SU, 0-1-1 ATS)
North Carolina travels to Lexington, Ky., for its annual early-December showdown with the Wildcats in this matchup of two of the most storied programs in college basketball.
The Tar Heels have won and covered the last three meetings after losing four straight to the Wildcats (0-3-1 ATS) to start the decade. Last year, the Tar Heels scored a 75-63 home win as 10½-point favorites.
This is the fourth straight road game for North Carolina, which went 3-0 SU and ATS in the first three. On Wednesday, the Tar Heels overcame a halftime deficit to win in Columbus, Ohio, beating the Buckeyes 66-55 as a 5½-point road chalk.
After suffering an embarrassing 84-68 loss to Gardner-Webb as 26-point favorites in their second game of the season, the Wildcats have rattled off three straight winners in non-lined contests. Kentucky has been getting it done on the defensive end of the court, holding its opponents to 32.4 percent shooting.
The over is 6-2 in Kentucky's last eight overall and 10-2 in the Wildcats' last 12 Saturday tip-offs.
ATS ADVANTAGE: NORTH CAROLINA
(19) Gonzaga (6-1 SU, 5-2 ATS) vs. Connecticut (5-1 SU, 1-3 ATS)
at Boston
The Bulldogs look for their second straight win on the East Coast when they take on UConn in the Hartford Hall of Fame Showcase game in Boston.
Gonzaga got past St. Joseph's 70-65 in overtime on Thursday, covering as a 2½-point underdog. The Bulldogs are on an 11-3 ATS run dating to last season. They’re also 14-2 ATS in their last 16 Saturday contests.
Connecticut has won two straight since a loss to Memphis back on Nov. 16. The Huskies beat Gardner-Webb 89-72 and crushed Florida A&M 93-54 in two non-lined games.
UConn has struggled against the line lately, going just 7-19 ATS in its last 26 games overall.
Away from home, Gonzaga holds its opponents to 31.7 percent shooting and 21.7 percent from beyond the 3-point line. In their last 5, the Bulldogs are averaging 11 more points a game than their opponents (75-64).
These two teams last met in the 2005 Maui Invitational when the Huskies scored a 65-63 win but failed to cover as five-point favorites.
ATS ADVANTAGE: GONZAGA
gametimepicks.com
Timberwolves scratch guard Rashad McCants because of sore right knee
November 30, 2007
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -Minnesota Timberwolves guard Rashad McCants was a surprise scratch Friday night against San Antonio because of what the team called a sore right knee.
McCants, who is Minnesota's second-leading scorer at 14.4 points per game, missed one game earlier this season after spraining his right ankle. His right knee, however, is more of a concern for the Timberwolves; the third-year player from North Carolina, a first-round draft pick in 2005, had microfracture surgery on that knee in June 2006 and missed more than half of last season.
Williams 'skeptical' that Tar Heels point guard Ty Lawson will play at Kentucky
November 30, 2007
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -Top-ranked North Carolina might be without point guard Ty Lawson for a second straight game when the Tar Heels travel to Kentucky on Saturday.
The speedy sophomore has been unable to practice fully this week due to an ankle he sprained against BYU in last week's Las Vegas Invitational, coach Roy Williams said Friday. Lawson missed the Tar Heels' win at Ohio State on Wednesday.
``I'm more skeptical of him playing ... than I was after the game on Wednesday night,'' Williams said. ``And maybe it's wishful thinking, I thought he would have made more significant improvement. But if he's not close to 100 percent, I'm not going to play him. That's where you just make things linger.''
If Lawson can't play, junior Bobby Frasor would likely start again for North Carolina (6-0), while senior Quentin Thomas would also see extended time.
NBA Today - December 1
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SCOREBOARD
Minnesota at Memphis (8 p.m EST). The Timberwolves are 1-5 on the road this season.
STARS
-Deron Williams, Jazz, scored a career-high 35 points to help Utah rout the Los Angeles Lakers 120-96.
-Kevin Durant, SuperSonics, had 35 points, including 22 in the second half, and Seattle edged Indiana 95-93.
-Manu Ginobili, Spurs, scored a season-high 31 points in San Antonio's 106-91 victory over Minnesota.
-Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph, Knicks, chipped in 25 points apiece to help New York edge Milwaukee 91-88.
-Paul Pierce, Celtics, 27 points, including 18 in the first quarter, and Boston wasted most of a 28-point lead before beating Miami 95-85.
-Andrea Bargnani and Carlos Delfino, Raptors, had career highs with 26 and 24 points, respectively, and Toronto beat Cleveland 91-82.
REDEMPTION
Jamal Crawford made the go-ahead basket with 28 seconds left, and New York beat Milwaukee 91-88 on Friday for its third win in four games. The Knicks, 104-59 losers at Boston the previous night, erased a 17-point deficit to hand the Bucks their third straight loss. ... Denver defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 123-107 to rebound from their most lopsided defeat of the season, a 127-99 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.
AK TRIPLE-DOUBLE
Andrei Kirilenko finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, along with six steals and four blocks in Utah's 120-96 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. It was Kirilenko's first triple-double since March 2006 against Sacramento.
DOMINANCE
Phoenix defeated Orlando 110-106 on Friday and have handed the Magic two of their four losses this season. Orlando had been 9-1 since losing to the Suns on Nov. 10. ... San Antonio defeated Minnesota 106-91 on Friday and has won 11 of the last 14 games against the Timberwolves. Minnesota has not won a season series from the Spurs since 1999-2000. ... New Orleans downed Atlanta 92-86 to move to 17-9 in their last 26 games against the Hawks. ... Dallas extended its home winning streak against Portland to nine games with a 91-80 triumph.
SNAPPED
Philadelphia squeaked past Washington 85-84 on Friday to snap a two-game losing streak at home and a four-game skid against the Wizards. ... Phoenix ended a two-game slide with a 110-106 win over Orlando. ... Denver snapped a three-game skid with a 123-107 win over the Clippers, handing Los Angeles their sixth loss in seven games.
SCORING STREAK
Carmelo Anthony scored 24 points to help Denver beat the Los Angeles Clippers 123-107 on Friday. Anthony has scored 10 or more points in 147 straight games, the longest active streak in the league. Boston's Kevin Garnett had scored 10 or more in 411 straight games before an eight-point performance on Thursday.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST
Seattle downed Indiana 95-93 on Friday to become the final NBA team to win a home game this season. The SuperSonics were 0-7 at home and had lost 11 straight home games dating to March 30 last season. Seattle (3-14) snapped a six-game skid and avoid the worst 17-game start in franchise history. The 1967-68 Sonics started 2-14 as well, before winning their 17th game.
STRONG IN DEFEAT
Dwight Howard scored 30 points and added 23 rebounds but Orlando couldn't overcome Phoenix, losing 110-106 on Friday. Hedo Turkoglu added 25 points for the Magic. ... Michael Redd scored 27 points, but missed two late 3-point attempts in Milwaukee's 91-88 loss to New York. ... LaMarcus Aldridge had 22 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high five blocked shots but Portland fell to Dallas 91-80. ... Kobe Bryant had 28 points but Utah blew out the Los Angeles Lakers 120-96.
STARS SIT OUT
Toronto beat Cleveland 91-82 on Friday in a game that stars LeBron James and Chris Bosh missed with injuries. James, the league's leading scorer, was out of the Cavaliers' lineup with a sprained left index finger, while Bosh sat out with a strained groin as the Raptors won their third straight. Cleveland has lost two straight following a four-game winning streak.
SPEAKING
''We know we can play without him but its easier said than done.'' - Cleveland forward Drew Gooden, after the Cavaliers lost 91-82 to Toronto on Friday without LeBron James. Cleveland lost for just the second time in eight games without James since the start of the 2005-06 season.