MIAMI +6 over San Antonio
MIAMI (Ticker) -- The San Antonio Spurs seek a third straight win on their marathon road trip tonight when they face the Miami Heat. The Spurs improved to 2-1 on their nine-game with a 109-108 win over the Orlando Magic last night. Meanwhile, Miami, which plays its next four games at home, has dropped five of nine following a season-high six-game losing streak. Two nights after their dramatic 82-80 triumph over the New York Knicks, the Heat suffered an 104-99 setback at Philadelphia last evening.
This is the first meeting between these teams this season. The Spurs and Heat split two encounters last year, with the home team winning each contest. Miami has defended its home court well in the series as of late going 3-0 SU/ATS over the past 3 years. The Heat gave the Sixers a good battle, covering in Philadelphia last night, and we look for them to be quite competitive here, as they are 5-1 ATS at home without rest vs. unrested opponents, while the Spurs are just 2-6 ATS in the opposing role. Off a loss in which they covered the spread, Miami is 9-2 ATS.
Off 2 big road wins, the Spurs will be hard-pressed to breeze to an easy victory here. They are just 4-11 ATS as a road favorite in their last 15 opportunities. We also note that the league, since 1998, is 0-4 ATS as a road favorite playing without rest off a win in Orlando. The Spurs had to battle to the buzzer to pull out last night's 1-point win, and will be a little road-weary here, allowing the Heat to make this one another nail biter.
PROJECTED FINAL SCORE: SAN ANTONIO 90 MIAMI 88