The Hawks look to win four times on a five-game trip for the first time in more than 40 years when they face the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night.
Atlanta (15-6) has posted victories over Milwaukee, Detroit and New Orleans while losing to San Antonio on a trip which began last Monday. The Hawks haven't won four games on a five-game trip since going 5-0 from Dec. 8-14, 1968. They've had 16 five-game road swings since.


The Hawks won both games in Toronto last season and have taken four of their last five games at Air Canada Centre.
Teague, whose status against the Hornets was uncertain after he left Friday's game against Detroit with a sprained left ankle, started Sunday and matched a career high with 24 points. Big games from Teague usually bode well for the Hawks, who are 11-1 when he scores at least 13 points and 4-5 when he doesn't.


Teague scored 13 in a 93-84 home win over the Raptors on Jan. 16, Atlanta's fifth straight victory in the series. Josh Smith led the way with 28 points and a season-high 15 rebounds while Joe Johnson added 27 points.
Johnson, who leads the Hawks with 18.6 points per game, has averaged 30.0 in his last three games against Toronto.- http://www.cbssports.com/

MIAMI (AP)—The odds had to overwhelmingly be in Chicago’s favor. Down by a point with 22.7 seconds left, with Derrick Rose heading to the line to shoot a pair of free throws.

The reigning NBA MVP. He was a perfect 29 for 29 from the foul line in the fourth quarter this season. As if this moment needed extra significance, it was coming against the Miami Heat, the team that downed Rose and the Bulls in last season’s Eastern Conference finals by taking the series’ last four games.
Rose missed the first.

Missed the second, too.
And missed a potentially game-tying jumper with 3.7 seconds left to boot, as somehow the Heat held on for a wild 97-93 win on Sunday. LeBron James—the player who Rose supplanted as the league MVP—scored 35 points for Miami, which never trailed yet never could relax until Chris Bosh sealed it by making two free throws with 0.1 seconds left.

“This is so surreal right now knowing that I had a chance to win the game,” said Rose, emotional at his locker afterward. “And this time it didn’t work out.”
Bosh scored 24 points and added 12 rebounds for the Heat (15-5), who got 15 points from Dwyane Wade and pulled within one game of the Bulls (17-5) in the East.
“Like the playoffs in January,” Wade said.

Richard Hamilton and Joakim Noah each scored 11 for Chicago, which got 10 apiece from Ronnie Brewer and Carlos Boozer.

“A highly contested basketball game,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.
Oh, that doesn’t even begin to tell the story of this one.
“I let my team down,” Rose said.-http://sports.yahoo.com

Sixers To Face A Slumping Magic Team

Chris Duhon stated in place of Nelson and had 14 points and five assists, but also committed four turnovers.Dwight Howard had 24 points, shooting 10 for 13 from the field, but only 4 of 15 from the foul line.It’s never easy beating a team with Howard, but one has to admit that the Sixers are facing a Magic team that is playing its worst basketball of the young season.The Orlando Magic are 12-8, but have struggled recently as they head into Monday’s matchup at the Wells Fargo Center against the 76ers.
Sunday’s 106-85 loss to the visiting Indiana Pacers was the Magic’s fourth in the past five games.
To top it off the Magic will be without point guard Jameer Nelson, who missed Sunday’s game and won’t play Monday due to concussion-like symptoms. A Magic official said that beyond Monday, Nelson remained day to day.

In the loss to Indiana, the Magic led by three at halftime, only to be outscored by 24 in the final two quarters.
Think the Sixers might foul him if the game is close in the fourth quarter?

This is a Magic team that hasn’t enjoyed the best of weeks. It began last Monday when they scored 56 points in a loss to Boston. Then on Thursday the Magic squandered a 27-point lead in another defeat to the Celtics. The next night they lost to New Orleans, which was 3-15 at the time. That was the game Nelson got hurt.

MILWAUKEE (AP)—The Milwaukee Bucks already were trying to cope with the recent loss of center Andrew Bogut to an injury. Then they lost Stephen Jackson to a suspension just a few hours before tipoff.
They didn’t need either player to beat Los Angeles on Saturday night— another sign of just how bad the Lakers have been on the road this season.

Drew Gooden scored 23 points and the undermanned, undersized Bucks beat the Lakers 100-89.
“I mean, what are you going to do?” Milwaukee’s Mike Dunleavy said. “Bogut’s not going to come in with a better ankle. We’re not going to get Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. So we know that we’ve got to play these big guys with guys with lesser size, but you do it with hard work and toughness.”

Kobe Bryant scored 27 with nine assists and eight rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Lakers from falling to 1-7 on the road this season.
Bryant didn’t have an explanation for the Lakers’ road woes, but said he and Lakers coach Mike Brown would meet to try and figure it out.

“We will have to put our heads together,” Bryant said. “Me and Coach Brown will have to sit down and think of what is going on and how we can be a much better road team.”
Ersan Ilyasova and Dunleavy added 15 points each for the Bucks.
With Bogut out, the Lakers tried to take advantage of their pair of 7-footers, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. It wasn’t as easy as it seemed going in.
“In the first half, we did a decent job,” Gasol said. “In the second half, there were not many touches. Defensively there was no excuse, (we’ve) got to do better. They were beating us all over the court.”
Bynum scored 15 points with nine rebounds. Gasol had 12 points and 15 rebounds, but shot 6 for 18 from the floor.- http://sports.yahoo.com/n

Last season the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls were both teams that looked very different then they had the year before, and both teams were thought by many to be good enough to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. During the regular season, the Bulls set out to prove that if either of the teams were going to look the part, it be them.

Chicago looked like they had Miami's number during the regular season, winning all three games against the Heat and finishing the season with the top record in the East. That didn't mean much come playoff time though, as Miami bounced Chicago right out of the Eastern Conference Finals in five games.




GAME NOTES

• The Heat are 8-2 at home. Chicago is an impressive 8-3 on the road.
• The Bulls originally drafted Norris Cole before trading his rights to Miami.
• This is the first of four meetings between Chicago and Miami this season.
• Last season the Bulls swept the regular season series against the Heat before losing in 5 games in the Eastern Conference Finals.
• Miami's injury list is clean for the first time this season, though Dwyane Wade just returned from an ankle injury and is still being considered day-to-day.
• As for the Bulls, Richard Hamilton (thigh), Taj Gibson (ankle), and Luol Deng (wrist) are going to be game-time decisions.- http://www.peninsulaismightier.com

Cavaliers' reserve Alonzo Gee would not surrender the spot without a joust. As James waited for an entry pass, he was uprooted by the 6-6, 219-pound swingman, who used his powerful frame to push and maneuver the superstar about eight feet from the basket.

By the time James turned to shoot a contested jumper, he resembled a man falling backward into a swimming pool -- attempting to create space for a fade-away which clanged off the rim.

The Heat won, 92-85, but the former Cavaliers forward had an ineffective shooting night (8-of-21) thanks to the work of Gee and Anthony Parker. The play offered just a snapshot of the developing defensive prowess of Gee.

Gee has gained notoriety for his offensive contributions off the bench and his occasional SportsCenter-worthy dunks. What might keep him in the NBA, however, is his defense. He has the strength to defend small forwards and the quickness and length to stick with shooting guards.  - http://www.cleveland.com/

Bryant’s following has allowed him to amass an endorsement portfolio of global brands including Nike, Smart Car, Panini and Turkish Airlines that pay him $28 million annually. Factor in his league leading $25.2 million salary from the Lakers and Bryant is the NBA’s top-earning athlete at $53.2 million.
Bryant’s Lakers salary is $3 million greater than any other NBA player thanks to the idiosyncrasies of the NBA’s maximum salary rules on individual players. Under the old collective bargaining agreement, 10-year veterans could sign deals for 35 percent of the salary cap which was $58 million last season. Yet players can sign deals worth 105 percent of their previous salary even if it exceeds the salary ceiling.


The NBA’s No. 2 earner is LeBron James of the Miami Heat at $49 million. James is the league’s top endorser making an estimated $33 million annually through partnerships with Nike, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, State Farm and Upper Deck. The James empire expanded in April when he became a minority owner in soccer club Liverpool after a marketing agreement with Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group. FSG and LRMR, James’ own marketing company, will oversee future partnerships for the two-time NBA MVP.

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Moments after the final buzzer sounded on the Los Angeles Lakers’ latest extravaganza of hard fouls, trash-talk and outright wrestling matches with the Los Angeles Clippers, Pau Gasol might have topped it all when he patted Chris Paul on the head.

Anybody who still believes the Staples Center’s co-tenants don’t have a rivalry should get his own head checked.

The Lakers’ 96-91 victory Wednesday night is only going to heat up the simmering campaign for city supremacy.

Basketball 12BET Master: Orlando Magic vs Boston Celtics NBA 12BET onlin...: The Boston Celtics won 87-56, holding the Orlando Magic to all-time franchise lows for points and shooting percentage. handicap sports be...

handicap sports betting  Jan 24, 2012 - Perhaps no team in the NBA has been a bigger disappointment so far this season than the Boston Celtics (though New York can make a case). Of the 16 playoff teams from last spring, only three (the Celtics, Knicks and Hornets) currently have a losing record, but in the case of the Hornets it's clear why they've dropped off after trading team leader Chris Paul, and the Knicks had all of 42 wins last season, so it's not like their fall has been precipitous. Boston on the other hand was a 56-win team returning most of its key players. Yet they recently suffered a string of five losses in six games and stood at 6-9 entering Monday night's meeting with Orlando.

The Magic were held to 20 points in the second half, 10 each in the third and fourth quarters. The Celtics actually made more than twice as many field goals on the evening (33 to 16). Dwight Howard, Orlando's leading scorer and erstwhile Superman, played more like Clark Kent (or even Jimmy Olson) as he missed his final nine field goals after the first period. Howard did at least finish with 18 points and 14 rebounds; no other Orlando player scored more than seven. Orlando's second leading scorer coming in, Ryan Anderson, in the midst of a breakout season that has made him an early candidate for the Most Improved Player award, was scoreless in 23 minutes, shooting 0-8 overall, 0-4 from three point range.

Basketball 12BET Master: Philadelphia 76ers VS New Jersey Nets 12BET tips N...: Rookie MarShon Brooks Playing Great So Far in 2012 I've been a Nets fan since they team moved to New Jersey in 1977. MarShon Brooks has be...

I've been a Nets fan since they team moved to New Jersey in 1977. MarShon Brooks has been a great surprise so far in the 2012 NBA season. He is averaging 15.4 points per game, which is second best among rookies behind only Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Kyrie Irving was the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. MarShon Brooks was not drafted until the 25th overall pick.


So I was really disappointed to hear that MarShon Brooks was a late scratch from the Nets starting lineup. I tried to watch the Nets game vs the Bulls anyway, and without rookie MarShon Brooks the Nets were never really in the game. We were behind 28-18 after the first quarter, and 59-43 at the half. Now the Nets are not that good this season, and they've fallen behind in many games this year. - http://sports.yahoo.com/

The Pacers are off to their best start in eight season after taking down the Los Angeles Lakers 98-86 on Sunday night to conclude their three game Western road trip. Despite a broken nose, Roy Hibbert led the way against the Lakers with 18 points and eight rebounds as he was one of six Pacers players to finish in double figures. Indiana does only have four wins against teams with a .500 record or better, yet they have only played five games at home all season. After tonight’s contest, we should know a little bit more about this team as they head on the road to face Chicago, Boston and then Orlando in succession.
 

Having just taken down the Lakers themselves, the Magic were held to a franchise low 56 points in Monday night’s loss in Boston. Orlando set franchise lows for points, field goals (16) and field goal percentage (24.6) in an 87-56 loss against the Celtics. Dwight Howard continued his impressive form with 18 points and 14 rebounds and is now only eight points shy of passing Nick Anderson to become the Magic’s all time scoring leader.- http://sportschatplace.com

Basketball 12BET Master: Charlotte Bobcats vs New York Knicks NBA 12BET on...: Carmelo Anthony is banged up and missing shots, and Amare Stoudemire is shooting less and averaging his fewest points since his rookie se...

Carmelo Anthony is banged up and missing shots, and Amare Stoudemire is shooting less and averaging his fewest points since his rookie season.

As a result, the New York Knicks are on the verge of their longest losing streak in nearly two years, and heading out on the road to face the Charlotte Bobcats may not be the best way to end their struggles.
The Knicks look to avoid a seventh straight loss Tuesday night in Charlotte, where they've dropped nine of 13 all-time meetings with the Bobcats.

New York (6-10) saw its skid continue with a 119-114 double-overtime defeat to Denver at home Saturday. It was Anthony's first game against the Nuggets since they traded him to the Knicks on Feb. 22.
Anthony led New York with 25 points but again struggled from the field, missing 20 of 30 shots. He scored 35 in a 100-86 loss to Milwaukee on Friday but went 11 of 26 from the floor and was ejected late for picking up a second technical foul.

Anthony is shooting a career-worst 40.4 percent, and that mark is at 33.3 over the past four games after spraining his ankle and hurting his non-shooting wrist in a 94-83 defeat Jan. 12 at Memphis. That was the first game of New York's losing streak.


"Expectations are still high. Things will still be great. I'm not down," said Anthony, who leads the Knicks with 25.7 points per game.

Anthony said that he might need to pass up some shots.
"When you're missing shots and they're right there and they're not going in, you say 'Maybe the next one, maybe the next one.' That's kind of the mentality that you have," he said. "But maybe I need to stop shooting a lot, I don't know. It's just a bunch of stuff that goes through my mind right now."- http://www.cbssports.com/

Basketball 12BET Master: Philadelphia 76ers vs Washington Wizards 12BET pre...: The Philadelphia 76ers and Washington Wizards have seen plenty of each other the last two weeks. That's no problem for the 76ers, who have h...

The Philadelphia 76ers and Washington Wizards have seen plenty of each other the last two weeks. That's no problem for the 76ers, who have had little trouble in recent matchups.



Rookie Nikola Vucevic, who started in Hawes' place, strained his left knee midway through the third quarter, although Philadelphia said he could have returned. He had a season-high 13 points and nine rebounds.



Philadelphia has won four straight overall against the Wizards by an average of 19.8 points.Philadelphia is 7-1 on its own court, holding teams to 82.6 points, and it will try to put up similar numbers in a favorable first half of the home stretch. The first four games are against teams with losing records, including a Washington club that is 0-6 on the road while shooting 38.0 percent and averaging 82.3 points.



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