A couple of interconference battles on Thursday night in the NBA. The Mavericks look to extend their red-hot 21-1 SU streak when they visit the solid home court of Chicago, where the Bulls are 18-6 SU this season, while the Nets look to continue their 11-2 ATS streak when they visit a Clipper team. we have a current winning streak of 3 games.
Below is a look at the two national television matchups on TNT tonight.
DALLAS (-4½, 191) at CHICAGO (TNT)
The Mavericks and Suns are clearly the two best teams in the league. Phoenix became the first team in NBA history to achieve two 15-game winning streaks before the All-Star break with their victory in New York last night. Dallas is also red hot and the Mavericks have gone 21-1 SU in their last twenty-two games and are 34-4 SU since their 0-4 SU start in early November.
The Mavericks have gone 16-5 SU on the road this season, but are just 11-8 ATS as they often face inflated point margins and have won their twenty-one road games by an average margin of just +2.1 points. per game.
Chicago enters tonight’s game riding a 5-7 SU streak and they are just 3-6 ATS over their last nine games. The Bulls have been a much stronger team at home this season where they are 18-6 SU (15-9 ATS) compared to just 6-13 SU (5-14 ATS) on the road.
Dallas has dominated this series, going 16-1 SU against Chicago in the last seventeen meetings, including 12-5 ATS in those games. Bettors have begun to adjust the line as the Mavericks are just 2-3 ATS in the last five games, despite going 4-1 SU.
The Mavericks won the previous meeting this season 111-99 as a surprisingly cheap 4-point hometown favorite. Dallas was led by Dirk Nowitzki with 31 points and 10 rebounds, while the Bulls’ leading scorer was Kirk Hinrich (25 points) followed closely by Loul Deng (24 points, 10 rebounds).
NEW JERSEY at THE CLIPPERS (-6½, 191) (TNT)
The Nets may not have much energy left tonight after two heartbreaking losses in a row this week. New Jersey blew a 20-point lead in its 88-87 loss at Sacramento on Monday and then blew a 12-point fourth-quarter lead last night at Golden State in a 110-109 loss.
The Nets must now travel relentlessly and play their third road game in four nights against a Clipper team in strong current form. Los Angeles has won three straight home games and has scored at least 112+ points in each win. The offense has been incredibly strong over the past two weeks, as the Clippers have shot at least 46% or better from the field in five of their last six games.
New Jersey remains without two starters, as center Nenad Krstic is out for the season with a knee injury, while forward Richard Jefferson is out indefinitely with an ankle injury. Krstic is second on the team in scoring (16.4 ppg) and rebounding (6.8 rpg), while Jefferson is third on the team in scoring (16.1 ppg) and assists (2.9 apg).
The Nets have played surprisingly well with their reduced lineup and are 2-0 ATS in the last two games without Jefferson and 11-2 ATS in the last thirteen games without Krstic.
This is the first meeting of the season between these two clubs. The home team won every game by double digits last season and overall the home team is 8-1 SU/ATS in the last nine meetings.
STEVE MERRIL is a professional sports handicapper and a documented member of The Professional Handicappers League. Get your Premium plays here.
