The Milwaukee Bucks continue their torrid start to the 2019-20 regular season in the National Basketball Association, winners of 11 games in a row. Perhaps the most impressive stat in their season so far is the 9-2 record they have posted away from home. Toronto has won seven in a row and sits 1 ½ games behind the Bucks in the East. The Atlanta Hawks are going in the opposite direction of the Bucks and Raptors, losers of ten in a row. In the Western Conference, the Dallas Mavericks continue to dazzle, as they ended the Los Angeles Lakers’ 10-game winning streak on Sunday, rolling to a 114-100 win at the Staples Center. New Orleans is the coldest team in the West, losers of five straight, although they are still 2 ½ games ahead of injury-riddled Golden State. What can you expect with your NBA betting in the Association this week? Don’t miss our top two picks.
Top NBA Betting Picks of the Week – December 2nd Edition
NBA Power Rankings: Bucks Leaving LeBron, Luka and the Raptors in the Dust https://t.co/NQHLaMJacU pic.twitter.com/4R9a50TLTw
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Monday, December 2nd
Utah at Philadelphia (7:00 pm ET, NBA TV)
Utah will play the fifth game of their Eastern road swing on Monday night. They have dropped three of the first four, losing to the Bucks, Pacers and Raptors, while beating the Grizzlies. They lost to the Raptors on Sunday night in 130-110 fashion as Toronto’s Pascal Siakam dropped 35 on the Jazz. Toronto raced out to a 77-37 halftime lead, the biggest in any NBA game this season. For Utah, Mike Conley put up 20 points, and Rudy Gobert posted a double-double, with a dozen points and 11 boards. Jeff Green had a season-best 19 points, and Donovan Mitchell scored 16. However, the game was out of hand so quickly that much of that scoring happened in garbage time.
The Jazz now visit a Philadelphia team that has won three in a row and seven of eight after a tough stretch in the early going. The 76ers’ lone loss in that stretch has been to the Toronto Raptors, in a game in which Philadelphia center Joel Embiid was held without a single point. Since then, the 76ers have beaten the Kings, the Knicks and the Pacers, beating Indiana 119-116 on Saturday night. In that game, Philadelphia guard Ben Simmons had three steals in the last 13.9 seconds of the game to turn a one-point deficit into a three-point win. On the night, Simmons had four steals overall, along with 15 points, 13 assists and six rebounds. Joel Embiid had 32 points and 11 boards, going 15 for 15 from the free throw line. In the three games since he failed to score a point at Toronto, he is averaging 30.7 points per game, going 40 for 44 from the charity stripe. While the Jazz have a lot of talent, Philadelphia appears to be trending upward again.
NBA Betting Prediction: Philadelphia 114, Utah 111Tuesday, December 3rd
Dallas at New Orleans (7:30 pm ET, TNT)
The Dallas Mavericks have won two in a row and seven of eight, following up a 15-point home loss to the Clippers with a seven-point win at Phoenix and a 14-point win in Los Angeles over the Lakers. Luka Doncic put up 27 points, including a stepback three-pointer over LeBron James. Doncic scored 21 of his points in the second half, also putting up nine boards and 10 assists. The Lakers led at halftime, but the Mavericks went on a 28-5 run in the third quarter. Delon Wright added 17 points and nine assists, and Kristaps Porzingis scored 15 points as the Mavericks showed that they are, at least for now, in the title conversation in the West.
Now the Mavericks continue their road trip on Tuesday in New Orleans against the Pelicans, who followed up a three-game winning streak with a five-game skid. Their last two losses came in a home-and-home with Oklahoma City, losing the two games by a combined five points. The second game came Sunday night, with the Thunder winning down in the Crescent City by three points. New Orleans led by five points with 5:15 left in the fourth quarter, but then the Thunder went on a 12-0 run to take the lead. Jrue Holiday led New Orleans with 26 points, and Brandon Ingram scored 20, while Josh Hart chipped in 11 points and 11 boards. The Pelicans continue to await the arrival of Zion Williamson on the floor. Given how well Dallas is playing right now, if they lose to the Pelicans, it will be because of off shooting nights by the Mavericks’ key scorers.
NBA Betting Prediction: Dallas 111, New Orleans 106
