Daily Sports Roundup
Tuesday, December 8
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Canucks look for a win in Nashville, Butler and Georgetown battle at MSG, and the Mavericks play host to the Suns.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
There are eight games on the NBA's schedule for Tuesday, including Phoenix at Dallas. The Mavericks fell to 14-7 SU and 12-9 ATS on the season with a 80-75 home loss to Atlanta on Saturday night. Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavs' offense with a game-high 32 points in that defeat, while Jason Terry added 17 points and Erick Dampier picked up 12 rebounds. Dallas is only 4-5 ATS at home this year.
Also on the NBA hardwood on Tuesday: Minnesota at Toronto, Denver at Charlotte, Sacramento at New Orleans, New Jersey at Chicago, Cleveland at Memphis, Orlando at the Clippers, and Milwaukee at Boston. The Celtics (16-4 SU, 10-10 ATS) won their seventh straight game last time out, beating the Thunder on the road by a score of 105-87. Kevin Garnett had a team-high 23 points for Boston in the victory, while Paul Pierce was good for 21 points that day.
Over on the college hoops schedule the big matchup for Tuesday is Butler vs. Georgetown, with the teams hitting the hardwood at Madison Square Garden. The Bulldogs (6-2 SU, 3-4-1 ATS) handily beat Valparaiso 84-67 on Saturday, with Gordon Hayward scoring 18 points and Matt Howard adding 16 points and five rebounds. The Hoyas (6-0 SU, 1-1 ATS) knocked off American 73-46 on Saturday, with Chris Wright and Henry Sims both tossing in 12 points in that win.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
As well, there are four games on the National Hockey League's schedule for Tuesday, with the Islanders at Philadelphia, Montreal at Ottawa, Dallas at Anaheim, and Vancouver at Nashville. The 16-13-0 Canucks fell 5-3 in Carolina on Saturday, with Henrik Sedin picking up a pair of assists and Andrew Raycroft making 23 saves. The 16-11-2 Predators lost 5-3 at home to Minnesota on Saturday, with Dan Ellis getting pulled after allowing four goals on 28 Wild shots.
Today's Helpful Tips
Tuesday, December 8
Raptors' revival
Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you can start rising to the top.
That appears to be the case with the Toronto Raptors, who couldn't sink much lower than last Wednesday's 146-115 loss at Atlanta.
Chris Bosh was held to a career-low two points and blasted his teammates' performance. The in-fighting looked like a recipe for disaster on the opening game of the road trip. But something funny happened on the flight from Atlanta to Washington. The Raptors began playing team defense, Bosh tallied a team-high 31 points and 16 rebounds and Hedo Turkoglu hit a late basket in overtime to give the Raptors a 109-107 overtime victory.
The next night in Chicago, the Raptors ripped the Bulls 110-78, holding them to almost half the total Toronto allowed the Hawks.
It was the second straight road game in which they held their opponent to under 100 in regulation after allowing 12 straight opponents score in triple-figures, and they went 2-0 against the spread after a streak of 0-5 ATS.
It's as if the Raptors (9-13) left Toronto as a group of individuals and returned as a team.
Now they face the Timberwolves (3-17), who are winless in their last six SU and 1-5 ATS in that span. Minnesota has lost 10 in a row to Toronto. The Raptors are 8-point favorites with a total of 212.
Shooting the Bulls
Chicago has been embarrassed in its last two outings - a 110-78 home loss to the Raptors on Saturday, when Toronto's Jarrett Jack tied has shoelaces as he dribbled off the final seconds, and a more justifiable 101-87 loss at Cleveland on Friday, when LeBron James showed off his victory dance steps late.
The Bulls haven't broken the 100-point barrier since Nov. 17 and they are 1-6-1 ATS in their last eight games and 1-5 against the over.
Now they get a crack at the NBA's version of the Harlem Globetrotters' former nemesis, the Washington Senators. The New Jersey Nets finally won their first game under new head coach Kiki Vandeweghe but are similarly bad against the spread (2-8 ATS in their last 10).
Surely the Bulls have enough pride to rip the Nets, or do they? Chicago is a 7-point favorite with a total of 192.
Magic show on the road
Orlando is looking to win a franchise-record eighth straight road game tonight against the L.A. Clippers. The Clips have lost their last five straight up against the Magic but are 4-1 SU in their last five home games. The Magic are 12-8 ATS this season while the Clips are just the opposite. Orlando is -7 with a total of 194.
Isle betcha
Tonight's Islanders-Flyers matchup is a meeting of .500 teams, at least to Joe Fan. But for bettors there's a big difference between these two so-so squads. The Islanders are an impressive 22-7 ATS on the season while the Flyers are 7-19 ATS, but Philly has won 10 in a row SU against the Isles. The Flyers are 1-7 in their last eight while the Isles are 3-3.
Philly is a -175 fave with a total of 5.5.