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The Dallas Mavericks will look to get back in the win column after breaking a four-game winning streak as they visit the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday night.

Dallas has been playing good basketball over the past couple of weeks, and I’m taking them to beat a struggling Milwaukee squad in my Mavericks vs. Bucks predictions below.

Let’s take a closer look at tonight’s matchup in my free NBA picks for Sunday, January 25.

Mavericks vs Bucks prediction

Mavericks vs Bucks best bet: Mavericks moneyline (+120)

Tonight’s game will likely see both teams without their star players on the court. And while the Dallas Mavericks will miss rookie sensation Cooper Flagg, the Milwaukee Bucks are truly in for a tough time with out superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who will be out for several weeks with a calf injury.

That’s an especially tough pill for Milwaukee to swallow considering how much the team has been struggling even with Giannis in the lineup. The Bucks have lost five of their last six games overall, including each of their last three at home. 

Contrast that with Dallas, which seems to be coming into its own as a competitive NBA team, if one that’s still a year or more away from being a true playoff contender. And it’s not all about Flagg, as players like Max Christie (13.3 ppg) have come up big in recent weeks to show that this team has a wealth of young talent to draw on.

Without Antetokounmpo, it’s hard to see Milwaukee getting many wins against competent teams, and the Mavericks are losing far less without Flagg in the lineup than the Bucks are by losing their iconic MVP candidate. I’m taking Dallas to get the win outright on the road tonight.

Mavericks vs Bucks same-game parlay

Along with taking the Mavs to win outright tonight, I’m also going to place a bet on the Over, as this number is just too low for two teams that play around league-average pace and have generally gone above tonight’s number.

I’m also taking Max Christie to hit his scoring total of 17.5 points, as he’s gone Over this total in four straight games, and should get even more usage if Flagg isn’t in the lineup.

Mavericks vs Bucks SGP

• Mavericks moneyline
• Over 218.5
• Max Christie Over 17.5 points

Our "from downtown" SGP: Max effort

Christie has dished out at least two assists in 13 straight games, and has hit 3+ in two of his last four outings. 

Mavericks vs Bucks SGP

• Mavericks moneyline
• Over 218.5
• Max Christie Over 17.5 points
• Max Christie Over 2.5 assists

Mavericks vs Bucks odds

• Spread: Mavericks +2.5 | Bucks -2.5
• Moneyline: Mavericks +120 | Bucks -140
• Over/Under: Over 218.5 | Under 218.5

Mavericks vs Bucks betting trend to know

Dallas is 4-1 SU in its last five games overall. Find more NBA betting trends for Mavericks vs. Bucks.

How to watch Mavericks vs Bucks

Mavericks vs Bucks latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here

The suddenly mortal Oklahoma City Thunder haven’t looked like a juggernaut lately, and they’ll be shorthanded again tonight as they host the upstart Toronto Raptors.

After a 24-1 start, OKC is just 13-8 in its last 21 games. My Raptors vs. Thunder predictions expect the hosts to lean heavily on Chet Holmgren here in what should be a tighter battle than the line suggests.

Take a closer look at my NBA picks for this January 25 clash.

Raptors vs Thunder prediction

Raptors vs Thunder best bet: Chet Holmgren Over 28.5 points + rebounds (-112)

Last year, the Oklahoma City Thunder held the fort without Chet Holmgren, who only logged 32 games in an injury-hit regular season. This year, they’d be lost without him – and his role should only expand with OKC’s growing injury list. 

The hosts will be without Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso and Ajay Mitchell tonight against the Toronto Raptors. That’s a lot of firepower in street clothes, and Holmgren is the likeliest candidate to step up to relieve the burden on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Chet delivered a 25-point, 13-rebound effort on Friday against the Pacers, and this is the time for a serious uptick in his 11.5 FGA per game. We’ve seen that in two of his past three outings, and I’m banking on 15+ shots here.

January has been a strong month on the boards for Holmgren. He’s averaging 10 RPG, and that spells trouble for a Toronto team that’s missing Jakob Poeltl and possibly rookie Collin Murray-Boyles, too. Look for the visitors to lean into small-ball lineups, giving Chet a major edge on the glass.

While this O/U line is a little higher than Holmgren’s season averages, he’s walking into the type of volume that an All-Star candidate should thrive on.

Raptors vs Thunder same-game parlay

The Raptors have put together a 3-1 West Coast road trip so far, and they’ve posted a solid 15-9 mark on their travels this year. Meanwhile, the Thunder are 1-4 ATS in their last five home games, so I’m taking the points here with a double-digit spread, especially given OKC’s injury list.

Even so, it’s hard to see Toronto staying close without a top-tier effort from Scottie Barnes, so I’m adding his points prop Over for this SGP. He’s averaging 22.8 PPG across his past eight contests, despite some miserable 3-point shooting, and he went past this number in his last visit to OKC.

Raptors vs Thunder SGP

• Chet Holmgren Over 28.5 points + rebounds
• Raptors +11
• Scottie Barnes Over 18.5 points

Our "from downtown" SGP: Cason keeps rolling along

Cason Wallace is going to see extra opportunities tonight, with the Thunder’s backcourt injuries, and he drilled three 3-pointers against the Pacers on Friday. He’s 11-for-22 from downtown across his last six games, and he’ll get open looks when SGA draws a crowd.

Raptors vs Thunder SGP

• Chet Holmgren Over 28.5 points + rebounds
• Raptors +11
• Scottie Barnes Over 18.5 points
• Cason Wallace Over 1.5 3-pointers

Raptors vs Thunder odds

• Spread: Raptors +11 | Thunder -11
• Moneyline: Raptors +390 | Thunder -510
• Over/Under: Over 224.5 | Under 224.5

Raptors vs Thunder betting trend to know

The Raptors are 6-3 ATS in their last nine contests. Find more NBA betting trends for Raptors vs. Thunder.

How to watch Raptors vs Thunder

Raptors vs Thunder latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here

The Detroit Pistons are back at it, trying to rebound from a disappointing loss to the Houston Rockets. The good news is, if you need a get-right game, you can’t do much better than face the Sacramento Kings. The Kings have lost four in a row, crashing back into reality after a fun little four-game winning streak. To win, however, Detroit is going to need to figure out its offense — particularly if Cade Cunningham remains significantly less than 100% and can’t be counted on for 30-ish points. Jalen Duren can still do his work inside, but the spacing is a huge issue, and the lack of a second creator is an uncomfortable reality while Jaden Ivey remains post-injury-Ivey and Caris LeVert remains … Caris LeVert. It’d be nice to see Javonte Green and Daniss Jenkins find a groove that leads to the confident, efficient outside shooting that the Pistons are capable of in spurts.

Game Vitals

When: 3 p.m. ET
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Watch: Fan Duel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Pistons -13.5

Projected Lineups

Detroit Pistons (32-11)

Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren

Sacramento Kings (12-34)

Russell Westbrook, Keon Ellis, DeMar DeRozan, Precious Achiuwa, Domantas Sabonis

Almost had it, but not quite. The Brooklyn Nets had the Boston Celtics on the ropes Friday night, but a late mistake proved costly as they ultimately fell short in double overtime. The L was the team’s fourth in a row.

The opponent tonight, amazingly, is back in the playoff chase. A couple months ago, the Los Angeles Clippers looked dead in the water and were dangerously close to landing near the top of the NBA Draft, which would wind up going to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Luckily for them, they’ve figured things out. They beat the LA Lakers on Thursday night and have won eight out of their last ten games.

Where to follow the game

YES Network on TV. Gotham Sports on streaming. WFAN on radio. Tip after 9:30 PM.

🤕

No Cam Thomas (left ankle sprain), Nolan Traore (illness), Haywood Highsmith (surgery recovery) or Noah Clowney (back soreness.) Ben Saraf is back with the big club

No Bradley Beal, Bogdan Bogdanovic, or Derrick Jones. Kawhi Leonard is questionable. Chris Paul remains in exile thanks to the Clippers front office.

The game

LA won the first meeting earlier this month.

As the Nets PR staff noted to ND, the trip west was eventful thanks to the weather in the Northeast…

But they are now safely ensconced in L.A. where it’s 62 degrees and partly sunny.

Nic Claxton and Day’ron Sharpe are going to be in for a fight on the inside tonight. Ivica Zubac is tied for fifth in the NBA in rebounding at a shade over 11 boards per game. He’s especially tough to deal with on the offensive glass as he captures almost four o-boards a night. To make things more challenging for the Brooklyn duo, Zu is tremendous at the rim. The big guy has shot 70 percent on shots inside of three feet for six consecutive seasons and has an especially soft touch on jump hooks and the like. With Clowney banged up, more will be on their plates tonight. Both of these teams have struggled on the glass this month. Brooklyn is 29th in rebounding in January while Los Angeles is 25th. Whoever wins the possession battle has a great chance of winning this game.

If the Nets want to keep up with the Clips, they’re going to need a huge night from Michael Porter Jr. MPJ struggled in the first matchup against Los Angeles, which was a game after he experienced an MCL sprain against the Orlando Magic. He’s toughing it out, but it has taken a bit of a toll on his performance. Either way, he’ll see if he can make something happen, especially if Leonard is limited tonight.

This Nets team has a great tendency to bounce back and fight harder after tough losses. It speaks to the buy in across the roster and with a team looking to find its future, something that’s a good value to possess. As Nic Claxton recently said:

“It’s so many games when you play an 82-game season. So, you really just can’t get too high, you can’t get too low. You get beat by 50, you got to be ready to respond. If you lose a tough game like this, you just kind of just got to be even-keeled through everything.”

Gotta keep picking yourself up every time you get knocked down.

Player to 👀: James Harden

Just when you think it’s over, Harden reminds you how special he is. This is year 17 for the future Hall of Famer and while he’s not at the gravity bending highs of his peak, is still incredibly good at what he does. The Beard is still a great finisher at the rim, a foul drawing magnet, and has gotten his turnover rate considerably down even as he’s taken on more offensive responsibilities. Harden still has his flaws of course, but the good he does outweighs it. As the Clippers hope to go on a miracle run this postseason, they’re going to need their lead guard to play at a superstar level if they want to beat the bevy of title contenders in the Western Conference.

With no Traore, Egor Dёmin and Drake Powell will get more minutes at the guard position. Dёmin hasn’t crossed the 25 minutes played plateau in each of his past four games, but that should change tonight with Traore and Cam Thomas out. This is the start of a five game road trip that will take the Nets across the country. We’re deep in the dog days of the NBA season as everyone’s waiting for the trade deadline to pass and then the All Star break so they can get some much needed rest. For rookies trying to find their footing, it’s especially tough as the grind of the NBA season is starting to wear on them a bit. A good outing from the kids tonight would give them a nice boost as they face some tough competition ahead.

From the 📺

It’s Conference Championship Sunday in the NFL, and the Seattle Seahawks are looking to reach their first Super Bowl in over a decade. We can’t watch it here because the NFL doesn’t do YouTube embeds, so watch it here. While you do that, special shouts to Alicia Keys

More reading: Clipperholics, SB Nation NBA, New York Post, New York Daily News, Clutch Points, Nets Wire, Steve’s Newsletter, City of Nets

• Brooklyn Nets Game Notes – Brooklyn Nets
• Los Angeles Clippers Game Notes – Los Angeles Clippers
• Brooklyn faces Los Angeles on 6-game road skid – AP
• Nets’ Nolan Traore set to miss Clippers game with illness after coming off best game of season – Dan Martin — New York Post

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The NBA postponed two games on Sunday in Memphis and Milwaukee because of the massive winter storm that has made for dangerous travel conditions across much of the U.S.

The Dallas Mavericks tried twice to fly to Milwaukee for their game against the Bucks on Sunday night, but conditions didn't allow it. A decision to postpone was announced a few hours before tipoff. Earlier Sunday, a game between the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies was postponed about three hours before tipoff.

Reschedule dates were not announced.

The Memphis area was experiencing a mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain that began falling early Saturday morning and continued Sunday morning. South and east of Memphis, freezing rain has collected on power lines and trees, causing widespread outages and blocked roads. Authorities had recommended people stay off the streets as the wintry mix and frigid temperatures caused a refreeze.

The Nuggets said they planned to fly out at some point on Sunday, depending on the conditions at Memphis International Airport. They are scheduled to play at home Tuesday against the Detroit Pistons.

The Grizzlies are scheduled to play the Rockets in Houston on Monday.

An NBA G League game scheduled for Monday between the Memphis Hustle and Stockton Kings in Southaven, Mississippi, was postponed and rescheduled for Feb. 19.

At least two college women's basketball games were postponed: No. 17 Tennessee’s visit to No. 18 Mississippi on Monday and Tulane's visit to Memphis on Tuesday. Reschedule dates were not announced.

In men's basketball, a game featuring Tennessee at No. 21 Georgia was pushed back a day from Tuesday to Wednesday. Purdue Fort Wayne and IU Indianapolis, and Southern Illinois and Evansville had Sunday games postponed without make-up dates announced.

The schedule changes come after dozens of games were moved around earlier in the week in anticipation of the storm.

Separately, on Saturday, the NBA postponed a game between the Warriors and Timberwolves to “prioritize the safety and security of the Minneapolis community” after the fatal shooting of a man by a federal officer in a commercial district less than two miles from where the Timberwolves play.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports