NBA Today
SCOREBOARD
Saturday, Feb. 7
Denver at New Jersey (7:30 p.m. EST). The Northwest Division-leading Nuggets are off to their best 50-game record (34-16) since joining the NBA in 1976. They’ll take on the Nets, who have won three straight while trying to get into playoff contention in the Eastern Conference.
STARS
Friday
— Zach Randolph, Clippers, had 35 points and 10 rebounds as Los Angeles snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 126-105 victory over Memphis.
— Deron Williams, Jazz, scored 34 points on a badly bruised thigh and hit the go-ahead layup with 20.2 seconds to play, leading Utah to a 111-107 victory over Sacramento.
— Danny Granger, Pacers, scored 14 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter as Indiana beat the Orlando Magic 107-102 and snapped a three-game losing streak.
— Marvin Williams, Hawks, had 29 points after going 18-for-20 from the line and helping Atlanta to a 102-97 win over the Charlotte Bobcats.
— Kevin Durant, Thunder, scored 31 points and outplayed Greg Oden in the first pro meeting between the top two picks of the 2007 NBA draft as Oklahoma City beat Portland 102-93.
— Peja Stojakovic, Hornets, scored a season-high 28 points and New Orleans snapped a four-game losing streak.
STREAKS
The Los Angeles Clippers snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 126-105 victory over Memphis on Friday night. It was also the Clippers’ first win on the road since Dec. 19 at Indiana, a skid that had reached 11. … New Orleans snapped a four-game skid with a 101-92 victory over Toronto, the Raptors’ fifth straight loss.
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
Two days after Cleveland’s LeBron James recorded an apparent triple-double in a 107-102 win against the New York Knicks, the NBA stripped him of one of his 10 rebounds after reviewing game tape. The league said the rebound with 39.3 seconds left should have been credited to Cavaliers center Ben Wallace, who tapped a loose ball that James grabbed. James finished with 52 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds.
BACK IN FORM
Danny Granger scored 33 points and went 12-for-12 from the free-throw line in Indiana’s 107-102 win over Orlando after not having scored 30 or more in nine games. The Pacers’ All-Star forward lost his outside shooting touch while dealing with a sore right knee, but attacked the basket Friday night instead of settling for jumpers.
SHAQ ATTACK
Phoenix’s Shaquille O’Neal became the seventh player in NBA history to score 27,000 points with his first basket—which didn’t come until the second quarter because of foul trouble—in Friday night’s 115-105 loss to Golden State. O’Neal scored 12 points before fouling out with 1:17 to play. The other six players to score 27,000 points were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Moses Malone and Elvin Hayes.
MEATY MATCHUP
Kevin Durant, taken second after Greg Oden in the 2007 draft, scored 31 points and outplayed Portland’s center to help Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Trail Blazers 102-93 on Friday. Oden struggled with just four points and two rebounds in 16 minutes. Oden, from Ohio State, and Durant, a guard out of Texas, had met only once previously, in the 2006 McDonald’s All-American high school game.
HANGING IN THERE
Marvin Williams needed IV fluids Friday night after scoring 29 points, including 18 of 20 free throws, in Atlanta’s 102-97 win at Charlotte. He overcame cramps that left him sprawled on the floor in agony at one point before spearheading the Hawks’ comeback from a 17-point deficit.
AT THE PEAK
Denver beat Washington 124-103 on Friday night to improve to 34-16, the Nuggets’ best 50-game record since they joined the NBA in 1976.
HONORING C-WEBB
Sacramento retired Chris Webber’s No. 4 jersey at halftime of its 111-107 loss to Utah on Friday night, celebrating the centerpiece of their sustained run of excellence in the early years of the decade. Webber was joined for the ceremony by Vlade Divac, Doug Christie, Scot Pollard and Mateen Cleaves, along with ex-NBA stars Kevin Johnson and Gary Payton.
SHARPSHOOTERS
The Los Angeles Clippers shot a franchise-record 16 3-pointers in a 126-105 victory at Memphis on Friday night. They made 59 percent of their shots from the field (46-of-78) and shot 55 percent (16-of-29) outside the arc. … The New Orleans Hornets tied a franchise record with 15 3-pointers in a 101-92 win over Toronto. Peja Stojakovic made seven 3s, his last coming during a decisive 4:48 stretch in the fourth quarter, when the Hornets hit six 3-pointers. … Indiana made 28 of 31 free throws in a 107-102 victory over Orlando.
TOUGH STRETCH
New York lost to Boston 110-100, absorbing its third straight loss to one of the NBA’s elite teams. The Knicks’ “Dream Week” included surrendering a couple of the greatest performances in Madison Square Garden history. Kobe Bryant scored 61 points in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 126-117 victory Monday, and LeBron James had 52 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 107-102 win Wednesday.
STRONG IN DEFEAT
Kevin Martin scored 19 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t stop Sacramento’s 10th loss in 11 games as the Kings fell to Utah 111-107 on Friday night. … Brandon Roy led Portland (30-19) with 32 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the Trail Blazers’ 102-93 loss at Oklahoma City. … Orlando’s Dwight Howard had 21 points and 20 rebounds, but made just five of 12 free throws in the Magic’s 107-102 loss at Indiana. … Emeka Okafor had 15 points and 19 rebounds in Charlotte’s 102-97 loss to Atlanta.
SPEAKING
“Honestly, I thought some of our guys were scared to play out there tonight.”—Washington’s Antawn Jamison after a 124-103 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday night dropped his Wizards to an NBA-worst 10-40.
Miami (26-22, 23-23-2 ATS) at Philadelphia (24-24, 23-23-2 ATS)
The 76ers continue a seven-game homestand that goes all the way to next weekend’s All-Star break when they welcome the Heat to the Wachovia Center for a battle of Eastern Conference foes searching for consistency.
Philadelphia held off Indiana 99-94 on Thursday, pushing as a five-point home favorite to end a two-game SU slide. Since ripping off seven-straight victories and an 8-0 ATS run, the Sixers have split their last eight contests (2-4-2 ATS), and they’re 3-3 at home during this stretch (1-3-2 ATS). Also, Philadelphia learned Thursday that it will play the rest of the season without injured big man Elton Brand.
Miami has been idle since Wednesday’s 93-90 loss at Detroit, though it covered as a 4½-point road underdog. The Heat are just 1-3 (2-2 ATS) in their last four, the lone triumph being Monday’s 24-point home blowout of the sad-sack Clippers. Going back to Dec. 28, they’ve split their last 20 games (12-8 ATS), going 4-7 on the highway, but 7-4 ATS.
The Heat snapped a five-game SU and ATS losing skid to Philadelphia with a 106-83 rout as a three-point home underdog back on Nov. 5, but Miami is 0-4 SU and ATS in its last four trips to the City of Brotherly Love. In this rivalry, the host is on an 11-3 ATS run, the underdog is on a 5-3 SU and ATS surge and the winner has cashed in each of the last 10 battles.
Miami is on ATS tears of 10-4 overall, 6-2 as a visitor, 5-1 after a SU loss and 9-4-1 after a spread-cover. Conversely, the team is in pointspread funks of 2-5 on Saturday, 8-23 against Atlantic Division opponents and 6-13-1 when playing on two days’ rest. Meanwhile, Philadelphia carries positive ATS trends of 10-4-2 overall, 7-2 against winning teams, 5-2-2 against the Eastern Conference, 4-0-1 versus the Southeast Division and 29-13 when playing on Saturday.
For the Heat, the “over” is on runs of 4-0 overall, 8-1 on the highway, 7-1 on Saturday, 9-0 after an outright loss and 5-1 when facing Atlantic Division foes. However, the under is 20-9-1 in Philly’s last 30 home games, 5-2 in its last seven on Saturday and 4-1 in its last five when playing on one day of rest. Finally, the under is 6-1 in the last seven meetings in this rivalry and 10-4-1 in the last 15 tussles at the Wachovia Center.
ATS ADVANTAGE: PHILADELPHIA and UNDER
Gametimepicks.com
LA CLIPPERS (11 - 39) at ATLANTA (29 - 20)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
ATLANTA is 4-1 against the spread versus LA CLIPPERS over the last 3 seasons
ATLANTA is 4-1 straight up against LA CLIPPERS over the last 3 seasons
3 of 5 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
MIAMI (26 - 22) at PHILADELPHIA (24 - 24)
Top Trends for this game.
MIAMI is 56-72 ATS (-23.2 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
MIAMI is 8-18 ATS (-11.8 Units) against Atlantic division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
PHILADELPHIA is 9-0 ATS (+9.0 Units) in home games in February games over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
PHILADELPHIA is 6-2 against the spread versus MIAMI over the last 3 seasons
PHILADELPHIA is 6-2 straight up against MIAMI over the last 3 seasons
5 of 7 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
DENVER (34 - 16) at NEW JERSEY (23 - 27)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
DENVER is 3-1 against the spread versus NEW JERSEY over the last 3 seasons
DENVER is 3-1 straight up against NEW JERSEY over the last 3 seasons
2 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
TORONTO (19 - 33) at MEMPHIS (13 - 36)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
TORONTO is 3-2 against the spread versus MEMPHIS over the last 3 seasons
TORONTO is 4-1 straight up against MEMPHIS over the last 3 seasons
4 of 5 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT (26 - 21) at MILWAUKEE (24 - 28)
Top Trends for this game.
DETROIT is 19-28 ATS (-11.8 Units) in all games this season.
DETROIT is 69-50 ATS (+14.0 Units) in road games over the last 3 seasons.
DETROIT is 8-0 ATS (+8.0 Units) in road games when playing with 2 days rest over the last 2 seasons.
MILWAUKEE is 201-258 ATS (-82.8 Units) second half of the season since 1996.
MILWAUKEE is 79-112 ATS (-44.2 Units) on Saturday games since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 6-4 against the spread versus MILWAUKEE over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 8-2 straight up against MILWAUKEE over the last 3 seasons
6 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO (22 - 28) at DALLAS (29 - 20)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 3-2 against the spread versus DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
DALLAS is 3-2 straight up against CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
3 of 5 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
MINNESOTA (17 - 31) at HOUSTON (30 - 20)
Top Trends for this game.
MINNESOTA is 28-45 ATS (-21.5 Units) second half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
MINNESOTA is 12-30 ATS (-21.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
HOUSTON is 27-13 ATS (+12.7 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
HOUSTON is 27-14 ATS (+11.6 Units) off a upset loss as a favorite over the last 3 seasons.
MINNESOTA is 17-7 ATS (+9.3 Units) in road games this season.
MINNESOTA is 8-0 ATS (+8.0 Units) in road games revenging a home loss vs opponent this season.
MINNESOTA is 12-4 ATS (+7.6 Units) in road games revenging a loss vs opponent this season.
HOUSTON is 8-18 ATS (-11.8 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
HOUSTON is 3-3 against the spread versus MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
HOUSTON is 6-2 straight up against MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
4 of 8 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
LA CLIPPERS vs. ATLANTA
LA Clippers are 0-4-1 SU in their last 5 games on the road
LA Clippers are 0-4-1 SU in their last 5 games
Atlanta is 6-3 ATS in their last 9 games when playing at home against LA Clippers
Atlanta is 10-3 SU in their last 13 games when playing at home against LA Clippers
MIAMI vs. PHILADELPHIA
Miami is 1-8 ATS in its last 9 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
Miami is 1-10 SU in its last 11 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games at home
Philadelphia is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games
DENVER vs. NEW JERSEY
Denver is 7-2 ATS in its last 9 games
Denver is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
New Jersey is 9-4 ATS in its last 13 games when playing Denver
New Jersey is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games when playing Denver
TORONTO vs. MEMPHIS
Toronto is 0-4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Toronto is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games
Memphis is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Memphis's last 9 games when playing at home against Toronto
CHICAGO vs. DALLAS
Chicago is 5-0-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Chicago is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Dallas is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Chicago
Dallas is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Chicago
DETROIT vs. MILWAUKEE
Detroit is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games
Detroit is 4-9 SU in its last 13 games
Milwaukee is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Detroit
Milwaukee is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Detroit
MINNESOTA vs. HOUSTON
Minnesota is 0-4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Houston
Minnesota is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Houston
Houston is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Houston is 4-7-1 ATS in its last 12 games at home