The Milwaukee Bucks saw their 18-game winning streak come to an end last week as the Dallas Mavericks came to town, but then they started another one by knocking off the Los Angeles Lakers a few days later. The Bucks still lead the East by five games over Boston, Miami and Toronto, winners of five in a row, including a huge comeback win over Dallas on Sunday. The Atlanta Hawks are still in a tailspin, losers of seven in a row and eight of ten. In the Western Conference, Denver has win six in a row to move into second place, within three games of the Lakers, who have dropped three in a row and have LeBron James on the shelf right now. Utah has won five in a row, and Oklahoma City and Portland have each won four straight. We have a separate article focusing on three of the Christmas Day games, but if you are looking elsewhere this week for NBA betting, don’t miss these two picks from Santa’s bag.
Top NBA Betting Picks of the Week – December 23rd Edition
👀 the updated #NBA standings through Week 9's action! pic.twitter.com/F4FtV8DEZy
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Monday, December 23rd
Toronto at Indianapolis (7:00 pm ET, NBA TV)
The Toronto Raptors have definitely flipped a switch after the departure of Kawhi Leonard, so even with Pascal Siakam on the shelf, they have figured out how to beat top teams. They found themselves down by 30 points against Dallas late in the third period on Sunday, but they came all the way back, the first time an NBA team had come back from a 30-point deficit in a regular season contest since December 21, 2009. Point guard Kyle Lowry led a bunch of Raptor reserves to the comeback win, using a fullcourt press to grab turnovers. Lowry had 20 points in the fourth period to key the win.
Now the Raptors head to Indiana, who just had a five-game winning streak come to an end in Milwaukee, as the Bucks delivered a 28-point throttling, winning 117-89 on Sunday. The first half was close, but then the Pacers only scored 34 points in the second half and had a 14-point deficit on points in the paint on the game. Domantas Sabonis put up 19 points and 18 boards, and Doug McDermott added 15 points, but on the whole the Pacers’ offense just fell off the table after the intermission. Can they get back to their winning ways with a depleted Raptor team showing up?
NBA Betting Prediction: Indiana 104, Toronto 100
Houston at Sacramento (10:00 pm ET)
The Houston Rockets have a nice three-game winning streak going, beating the Spurs at home and then the Clippers and the Suns on the road, and how they look to make it four in a row against the Kings. They beat Phoenix on Saturday, getting 47 points from James Harden and 30 more from Russell Westbrooks, as the dynamic duo of point guards run the offense at different speeds, but both speeds work. The Suns got within eight points with 9:37 left in the fourth period, but Houston went off on a 21-9 run, including four three-balls from Harden, and the Suns could not respond.
The Sacramento Kings have dropped three in a row and four of five, losing to Charlotte, Indiana and Memphis. That loss to the Grizzlies came on Saturday, on the second night of a back-to-back. Harrison Barnes led Sacramento with 25 points, and De’Aaron Fox added 22. Richaun Holmes chipped in 18 points and a dozen boards. Sacramento did win the battle of scoring in the paint, 60-40, and they had a 31-5 edge in second-chance points thanks to 18 offensive rebounds, but they could not get enough stops in the halfcourt to win the game. Buddy Hield, who had started the 2019-20 season strong, continues to have a hard time finding his shot. Given how well Houston is playing, it’s hard to pick the Kings here.
NBA Betting Prediction: Houston 126, Sacramento 120
