Sports fans are in for a treat later tonight as we’ve served up a pair of blockbuster NBA games that will definitely tickle your basketball fancy. Kicking things off this evening is the much-anticipated clash between the Atlanta Hawks and the Indiana Pacers. Following shortly thereafter is the showdown between the New York Knicks and the Toronto Raptors.
Read on below for a quick breakdown of these two Eastern Conference matchups and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of the game between the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Line: Atlanta Hawks (+3.5) at Indiana Pacers (-3.5); total: 201.5 – view all NBA lines
What in the world is happening to Indiana? The Pacers crashed to their third consecutive defeat with a gut-wrenching 91-89 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday. The Pacers had no answer for Chris Paul who led the short-handed Clippers with 26 points and seven assists. It was another disappointing outcome for the reeling Pacers who have now lost six of their last seven games.
They will look to return to the win column when they face the Atlanta Hawks tonight. The Pacers won their first meeting with the Hawks this season, 93-87. Monta Ellis scored 26 points for the Pacers in that encounter to end Atlanta’s six-game winning streak at that time. He has been a vital cog for Indiana this season, averaging 13.7 points and a team-best 5.0 assists per game this campaign.
The Pacers are 5-4-1 ATS in their last 10 home games against the Hawks.
Writer’s Prediction
Indiana returns to winning ways with a 99-94 victory.
The Toronto Raptors stretched their unbeaten run to nine games with an emphatic 106-89 victory over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday. Five players scored in double-figures for the Raptors who moved to within two games of Cleveland for the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings. They will look to keep the winning streak going when they host the New York Knicks later tonight. The Raptors will have their work cut out for them, however, against the Knicks as they have lost four of their last seven games against New York.
The Knicks won their first meeting with the Raptors this season, 111-109. For the Knicks to duplicate that feat, they will need Carmelo Anthony back in their fold. Anthony, who missed New York’s 128-122 loss to Oklahoma City on Tuesday, has averaged 30.6 points in his last seven matchups with Toronto.
The total has gone over in Toronto’s last seven home games against New York.
