NBA Knowledge
Sunday's hot teams
-- Dallas won its last three games, allowing 89-89-88 points (6-1 last 7A)
-- Charlotte won seven of last nine games (9-4 last 13A).
-- Cleveland won five of its last seven games (4-7 last 11HF).
-- Thunder won nine of their last ten games (5-2 last 7AF).
-- Clippers won four of their last five games (3-5 last 8HF).
-- Utah won seven of its last ten games (8-4AF).
-- Orlando won three of its last four games (4-1 last 5HF).
-- Bucks won three of last five home games (8-2 last 10HF).
-- Golden State won six of its last seven games (0-4 last 4HF).
-- Blazers won their last four games (2-3 last 5AU).
-- Celtics won five of their last seven games (7-4 last 11AF).
Cold teams
-- Pelicans lost four of their last six games (4-1 last 5AU).
-- Nets are 2-7 in their last nine games (2-2HF).
-- Minnesota lost three of its last four games (0-3 last 3H).
-- Rockets lost five of their last seven games (5-3HU).
-- Washington lost four of its last six games (2-4 last 6AU).
-- Phoenix lost its last five games (3-2 last 5HU).
-- Grizzlies lost their last five games (4-2 last 6AU).
-- Bulls lost five of their last seven games (5-1 last 6AU).
-- Indiana lost three of last four games (1-3 last 4AF).
-- Knicks also lost three of last four games (2-6 last 8HU).
-- Lakers lost eight of their last ten games (5-7 last 12HU).
Series records
-- Pelicans won their last four games with Brooklyn.
-- Mavericks won their last six games with Minnesota.
-- Cavaliers won five of last six games with Charlotte.
-- Houston won five of last seven games with Oklahoma City.
-- Clippers won eight of last ten games with Washington.
-- Jazz won six of their last eight games with Phoenix.
-- Grizzlies won last nine games (6-3 vs spread) with Orlando.
-- Bulls won three of last four games with Milwaukee.
-- Knicks lost their last five games with Indiana.
-- Warriors won five of last six games with Portland.
-- Lakers won five of last six games with Boston.
Totals
-- Four of last five New Orleans games stayed under.
-- Five of last seven Minnesota games stayed under.
-- Four of last five Cleveland games stayed under total.
-- Six of last seven Houston games stayed under.
-- Five of last six Clipper games stayed under the total.
-- Eight of last ten Utah games stayed under the total.
-- Under is 5-3 in last eight Orlando games.
-- Seven of last eight Chicago games stayed under.
-- Five of last six Indiana-New York games stayed under.
-- Five of last six Portland games stayed under.
-- Five of last six Boston games stayed under total.
Back/backs
-- Bulls are 4-10 in last 14 games if they played night before.
-- Indiana covered four of last six if it played night before.
-- Portland covered four of last five if it played night before.
Armadillosports.com
Sunday's Essentials
By Tony Mejia
VegasInsider.com
Charlotte at Cleveland: While few would have antiicipated this, the Hornets and Cavaliers are division leaders at this late stage of the season. Despite Charlotte’s success, it is within reach of the No. 3 spot but also just one half-game out of the sixth spot, so this one should be key. However it goes down, the Hornets should be able to avoid the Cavs, who have a three-game lead on Toronto for the top spot in the Eastern Conference entering Sunday’s action. LeBron James has led the way in victories over Brooklyn and Atlanta after sitting out a loss to Houston. He’s maintained that he’s feeling better than he has in years, but that didn’t stop the Hawks from challenging him at every turn in Friday’s overtime contest. He’s done a nice job connecting with Kevin Love of late while also affording Kyrie Irving opportunities to get going offensively. James has been excellent defensively and will undoubtedly be matched with a surging Nicolas Batum and Marvin Williams in this one. James has averaged 26.5 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists over the last two games despite not registering a triple-double. Batum is only averaging 12 points per game in three contests against the Cavs this season, but has averaged 21 points, 7.3 rebounds and nine assists over his last three games. The Hornets have won three straight, the longest streak in the Eastern Conference. The ‘under’ has prevailed in five of Charlotte’s last seven games. Cleveland is 2-1 against the Bees this season, losing in Charlotte on Feb. 3.
Oklahoma City at Houston: The Thunder are expected to be at full strength for the second consecutive game after surviving on Thursday night, 119-117, against a depleted Clippers squad. Kevin Durant sat out Tuesday’s loss at Detroit, so he’s been a part of nine consecutive OKC victories, games in which the Thunder has averaged 117.4 points. The Rockets find themselves on the outside looking in as far as the Western Conference playoff picture goes. At two games under .500, Houston is one game behind both Utah and Dallas entering action today and have lost seven of 12. Their next game will come on Wednesday at the Mavericks in critical contest, and this game against the Thunder is their final one against a team that currently sports a winning record. A favorable closing slate has Houston facing the Suns, Lakers, Timberwolves and Kings to end the season. As you would expect, James Harden always gets up for his former team and has averaged 31.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 8.7 assists against the Thunder this season. He's averaging 28.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 9.4 assists over the last five. The 'under' has prevailed in six of the last seven Houston games.
Boston at L.A. Lakers: Coming off their monumental upset of the Warriors on Friday night, the Celtics will now face their long-time rivals at Staples Center. The Celtics remain in the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference but are just one-half game out of third. The win at Golden State snapped a two-game losing streak and was achieved with Jae Crowder resting. He’s expected back in the lineup after sitting out Friday’s game. Boston went just 4-4 without him as he sat with an ankle injury. The Lakers come off a rare victory, defeating the Heat in OT 102-100 to end March. The win came on the heels of a massive controversy when a video rookie D’Angelo Russell took of Nick Young hit the internet, causing many of his Lakers teammates to ostracize him. Kobe Bryant sat most of the contest with nagging shoulder and knee trouble, but he’s expected to play in his final game against his franchise’s most storied rival. The Lakers actually defeated Boston at TD Garden 112-104 on Dec. 30. The ‘under’ has come in five times over the last six Celtics games.