Los Angeles (30-17 SU, 23-24 ATS) continues a five-game road swing as the Clippers return to the west coast following Tuesday’s meltdown in a 121-110 loss at Philadelphia. The Clippers squandered a 19-point lead as L.A. couldn’t capitalize off an impressive away victory the night before in Atlanta. Blake Griffin returned to the Clippers’ lineup on Tuesday after missing the previous 18 games with a knee injury. Griffin struggled from the floor by scoring 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting, but did pull down 11 rebounds.
Golden State (39-7 SU, 21-24-1 ATS) returns home following a four-game trip, capped off by 113-103 triumph at Charlotte as 9 ½-point favorites. The Warriors are riding an 8-1 SU and 6-3 ATS run in the last nine contests, including four consecutive victories at Oracle Arena. Steve Kerr’s squad has stepped up defensively during this stretch by cashing the UNDER eight times, including holding four opponents to below 100 points.
This series has been owned by the Warriors recently with Golden State beating Los Angeles seven consecutive times. The last victory by the Clippers over the Warriors came at Staples Center on Christmas night in 2014, but Golden State captured the first meeting this season, 115-98 as four-point road favorites in December.
The Warriors jumped out to a 37-19 advantage after one quarter and never looked back as Klay Thompson led Golden State with 24 points. Stephen Curry chipped in 19 points for the Warriors, but last season’s MVP failed to hit a three-pointer in eight attempts.
The Clippers have covered in three of the past five trips to Oakland, but haven’t won at Golden State in the regular season since Christmas of 2011. Los Angeles continues to play without point guard Chris Paul, who is sidelined with a thumb injury. Austin Rivers has filled in nicely for Paul by putting up 27 points in Monday’s victory at Atlanta and 20 points in Tuesday’s defeat at Philadelphia.
The Nuggets held off the Suns on Thursday, 127-120 to barely cash as 6 ½-point home favorites. Forward Nikola Jokic led the way for Denver with 29 points and 14 rebounds, but suffered a hip injury and will not play on Saturday night. Denver heads to Phoenix looking for the four-game season sweep of the Suns, as the Nuggets have racked up at least 120 points in each of the first three victories over Phoenix. Mike Malone’s squad is currently on a 7-1 ATS run, although the Nuggets have dropped four of their past five road games.
The Suns had covered seven of nine games prior to Thursday’s defeat at Denver, as Phoenix tries to turn around its recent home woes. Earl Watson’s club has lost four straight games at Talking Stick Resort Arena, while each of those games sailed OVER the total.
Both the Kings and Hornets blew fourth quarter leads on Friday as these two teams meet up in Charlotte. Sacramento squandered a 10-point advantage with six minutes remaining as Indiana rallied for a 115-111 home triumph in overtime, snapping the Kings’ modest two-game winning streak. The Kings have covered four straight contests on this eight-game road swing, as their longest ATS hot streak this season is five games, coming back in November.
The Hornets held a six-point advantage with five minutes left in regulation before falling short to the Knicks, 110-107. Charlotte has lost three straight since a three-game winning streak, as the Hornets try to end a two-game slide at home. Last season, the Kings and Hornets went to overtime in each of their two matchups with Charlotte winning each time, including erasing a 22-point deficit in a home win in November 2015.
Don’t look now, but Miami has won six consecutive games following Friday’s 100-88 triumph over scuffling Chicago as seven-point road underdogs. The Heat return home, where they have won each of their past four games to host the Pistons. Detroit was the last team to win at American Airlines Arena back on January 1 as the Pistons rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit for a 107-98 victory as 6 ½-point favorites.
The Pistons have been off since Monday’s 109-104 home defeat to the Kings, snapping a three-game winning streak. Stan Van Gundy’s squad has lost six of their past nine games away from the Palace of Auburn Hills, but Detroit is victorious in two of its last three visits to south Florida.
Milwaukee began 2017 in a prime position for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but the Bucks have slid off course recently. Jason Kidd’s team has dropped seven of their last eight games, including Friday’s 102-86 setback at Toronto, their third loss to the Raptors this season. The Bucks face another solid Atlantic division squad on Saturday as the Celtics invade BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Boston picked up its second consecutive victory by blowing out Orlando on Friday, 128-98, even though forward Al Horford sat out with a groin injury. Horford is expected back in the lineup on Saturday as the Celtics have lost three of their past four games away from TD Garden. Both the Celtics and Bucks have gone the opposite way this season with no rest as Boston owns a 7-3 SU and 6-4 ATS mark, while Milwaukee has slumped to a 2-7 SU/ATS ledger on the second end of a back-to-back.
Utah and Memphis hook up in a solid matchup of Western Conference teams with eyes on the postseason in Salt Lake City. The Jazz have struggled with the Grizzlies this season by losing two of three meetings, while the winner of the last two games has failed to bust the 88-point mark. Memphis has fared well with no rest following Friday’s game at Portland by compiling an 8-3 SU and 7-4 ATS mark on the second of a back-to-back set.
Brooklyn plays with no rest on Saturday at Minnesota after covering as 17-point underdogs in Friday’s 124-116 setback at Cleveland. The Nets go for the season sweep of the Wolves after knocking off Minnesota at Barclays Center in November, 119-110 as four-point underdogs. Minnesota is listed as a double-digit favorite for only the second time this season after blasting Philadelphia in the first time in this role in November.
