Daily Sports Roundup
Friday, December 18
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Blackhawks play host to the Bruins, the Bucks visit LeBron and the Cavaliers, and the Sixers search for a win in Boston.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA has 11 games on the schedule for Friday, including Philadelphia at Boston. The Sixers fell 108-101 at home to the Cavaliers in their last game on Wednesday night, with Andre Iguodala scoring 26 points and Allen Iverson adding 16 points and five assists. The Celtics picked up a 110-105 win in Memphis in their last outing on Monday night. Paul Pierce scored 19 points for Boston in that victory, while Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo each collected 18 points.
Rounding out the NBA slate on Friday: New Jersey at Toronto, Utah at Atlanta, Detroit at Oklahoma City, the Clippers at New York, Sacramento at Minnesota, Indiana at Memphis, Denver at New Orleans, Houston at Dallas, Washington at Golden State, and Milwaukee at Cleveland. LeBron James led the way for the Cavaliers with 36 points in their win over Philadelphia on Wednesday night. Mo Williams added 12 points, and Shaquille O'Neal had 10 points and nine boards.
As well, the top game on the college hoops schedule for Friday is Pacific at St. Mary's. The Tigers (7-2 SU, 5-4 ATS) rolled past Sacramento State 79-49 in their last contest, with Demetrece Young tossing in a team-high 12 points. The Gaels (8-1 SU, 7-1 ATS) grabbed a 101-80 win over Portland State last time out. Omar Samhan poured in 31 points and added 17 rebounds for St. Mary's in that game.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Finally, the NHL offers up six games on Friday, with Ottawa at New Jersey, Toronto at Buffalo, Carolina at Florida, Tampa Bay at St. Louis, Washington at Vancouver, and Boston at Chicago. The 16-10-6 Bruins last played on Monday night, falling 3-1 at home to the Flyers. Vladimir Sobotka had the lone Boston goal in that contest. The 21-8-3 Blackhawks got past the Blues 3-0 at home on Wednesday night. Patrick Kane picked up three assists for Chicago in that game.
Today's Helpful Tips
Friday, December 18
Hail St. Mary’s
The Gaels are off to an 8-1 start and it appears the WCC champion will again come down to St. Mary’s or Gonzaga.
Saint Mary’s is outscoring opponents by a 17.2 ppg margin this season and has hit the 100-point mark in three games.
Starting guard Wayne Hunter (11.0 ppg) will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn ACL. He did not play in the Gaels last two games and his defensive prowess was missed as the team gave up 80 points to Portland State this week and 76 to Oregon last Saturday.
Big boy Omar Samhan picked up the slack for Hunter offensively, posting 31 points and 17 rebounds in Tuesday’s game which gave him his sixth double-doubles of the season.
The Gaels have covered in four straight while the over is 11-1 in St. Mary’s last 12 home games.
These two teams met last season with St Mary’s winning 74-65 as 7-point road chalk.
Sixers without the Answer
Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson will not make the trip to Boston for Friday's game against the Celtics because of arthritis in his left knee and a left shoulder injury.
Iverson has had fluid drained from the knee twice this week, including prior to Wednesday night's loss to Cleveland. He did not play for a month until joining the 76ers last week and admitted he was not in game shape.
Willie Green will likely get the start at the two-guard spot with rookie Jrue Holiday handling the point.
In five games with Philadelphia, Iverson is averaging 15.6 points and 4.2 assists. The team has gone 1-4 overall and ATS with A.I. in the lineup this season.
The 76ers are 7-1 ATS in their last eight away games and in a November matchup against Boston at the Garden, Philly lost 113-110 but covered as 13-point dogs.
Oddsmakers installed the Celtics as 12.5-point favorites this time around with a total of 197.5.
Shutout, not shootout
The Blackhawks are tossing shutouts like Pedro Martinez during his Jheri curl days. Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi each denied opponents goals in Chicago’s last two wins – a 4-0 victory over Tampa Bay on Sunday and a 3-0 win against St. Louis Wednesday.
The stonewalling goalie tandem has allowed the fewest goals in the league at 64 and each hold a sub-2.15 goals-against average. Niemi is 6-1-1 on the season and has three shutouts in eight starts.
"The way we play, it’s tough to play against," Huet said. "It's puck possession. We try to make a play where we keep control of the puck and eventually make a play to the net."
The Blackhawks have been mighty tough at home this season with a 14-3-1 record at the United Center.
Chicago is listed as a -175 favorite against Boston, but the Bruins have won four straight in this series.
T-Mac on display
Tracy McGrady may be showcasing his talents on Friday against the Mavs for a chance to play home games at Madison Square Garden. That’s if he can get onto the floor longer than 10 minutes.
The Knicks have expressed interest in acquiring T-Mac from the Rockets according to ESPN.com. McGrady played for the first time in nine months on Tuesday against the Pistons, finishing with three points and three rebounds in seven minutes of first-quarter action.
One has to wonder how the injury-riddled McGrady would hold up in the fast-tempo, run-and-gun offense of Mike D’Antoni and the Knicks.
Dallas opened as 5.5-point favorites with a total of 195.5. The Mavericks have won and covered the last three games of this series.
Notable quotable
“We sent everybody home. Some of our guys have already, in the last three weeks, had flu like symptoms. When we get back here tomorrow, some more guys might come in feeling sick. We don’t want anybody else to get sick so the important thing is to handle it right, send everybody home.”
-- Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo after not holding practice Thursday because of a possible swine flu outbreak among the team’s players.