Thursday NBA Picks
Our team of writers and handicappers hand out their NBA picks and predictions for Thursday, February 5.
Los Angeles Lakers at Boston Celtics, 8:05PM ET
Phil Jackson doesn’t need any reminders of the last time the Los Angeles Lakers visited Boston, when they fell under a shower of 3-pointers and left under a shower of confetti as the Celtics clinched an NBA-record 17th championship.
The Lakers got their first chance at redemption on Christmas Day, when they won in Los Angeles 92-83 to snap Boston’s string of 19 consecutive victories. The loss didn’t just snap Boston’s franchise-record winning streak, it sent them into a 2-7 tailspin that was the worst stretch of the New Big Three era.
But the Celtics are on another hot streak, winning their last 12 to improve to 41-9 – best in the NBA – heading into Thursday night’s game against L.A.
NBA Free Pick: UNDER – View Game Matchup | Best Line:
Indiana Pacers at Philadelphia 76ers, 7:05PM ET
The Philadelphia 76ers had to be encouraged by their play through most of January, when they reclaimed a winning record for the first time in two months despite playing most of that stretch without Elton Brand.
Back-to-back fourth-quarter collapses and Brand’s ongoing shoulder problems, however, may have dampened the positivity in Philadelphia.
The Sixers expect Brand to play as they try to rebound from consecutive meltdowns and get back to .500 with a home game against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.
Philadelphia (23-24) won 10 of 12 games from Jan. 6-30, pulling one game over .500 for the first time since it was 7-6 on Nov. 23. It made that surge despite missing Brand for eight of those games due to a dislocated right shoulder.
While things appeared to be falling into place for the Sixers when Brand came back Jan. 24, they haven’t been able to sustain their success.
Philadelphia blew a 12-point fourth-quarter lead in an 85-83 loss to New Jersey on Saturday night before giving up a seven-point lead in the final 3:27 of a 100-99 loss to Boston on Tuesday night.
After Sixers guard Andre Iguodala broke a 97-all tie with a 16-foot jumper with six seconds remaining, Celtics guard Ray Allen answered with a game-winning 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds left.
NBA Free Pick: Indiana – View Game Matchup | Best Line:
Dallas Mavericks at Utah Jazz, 10:35PM ET
Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry and Josh Howard have been providing the bulk of the scoring, but ever since Jason Kidd began calling plays, the Dallas Mavericks haven’t lost.
With one of the league’s all-time best passers directing their offense the Mavericks have won four straight, a streak they’ll look to extend on Thursday when they head to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Jazz.
Dallas (29-19) had lost six of nine after getting routed 124-100 at Boston on Jan. 25, and before it returned home to face Golden State on Jan. 28, coach Rick Carlisle decided to leave Kidd, the NBA’s active assists leader, in charge of calling plays.
The Mavericks responded from their 24-point loss with a 24-point win. Six Dallas players scored in double figures in a 117-93 win over the Warriors, and that was followed with two even more impressive victories.
Nowitzki and Terry combined for 50 points in a 15-point win at Miami on Saturday, then those two totaled 52 as the Mavericks beat Orlando by 10 on Monday.
Howard had 23, Terry 20 and Brandon Bass 19 off the bench when Dallas returned home on Wednesday to top Portland 104-99.
NBA Free Pick: Utah – View Game Matchup | Best Line:
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Posted: 2/5/09 1:44AM ET