NBA Betting Info. 2/25

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Re: NBA Betting Info. 2/25

Preview: Houston At Portland
When: 10:30 PM ET, Thursday, February 25, 2016
Where: Moda Center at the Rose Quarter, Portland, Oregon
The Portland Trail Blazers are no longer thinking about just making the playoffs, but about earning a higher seed. The Trail Blazers are winners of six straight and 15 of their last 18 and will try to disappoint another team chasing them in the standings when they host the Houston Rockets on Thursday.
Portland came out of the All-Star break in a three-team race for the last two spots in the Western Conference with Houston and Utah but has continued its surge to put those team in the rear-view mirror. The dynamic backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum have each gone over 30 points in the last two games after Lillard responded to his All-Star snub by dropping 51 points on the Golden State Warriors on Friday. The Rockets had a chance to claim eighth place in the West on Tuesday but could not find a way around Utah in a 117-114 overtime loss. Houston has dropped seven of its last 10 games, including a pair of losses to the Trail Blazers by an average of 15 points.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT, ROOT (Houston), CSN Northwest (Portland)
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (28-29): James Harden is doing his part with an average of 34.6 points in the last five games and went for 42 at Utah on Tuesday. Jason Terry buried a 3-pointer to force overtime but could not get another to fall as the extra period came to a close. “This might have been the toughest loss of the season,” Terry told ESPN. “We fought back. Give credit to Utah, they were very resilient, hit big shots. But this one is going to sit with us. We’re going to be (an angry) team when we go into Portland on Wednesday.”
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (30-27): Lillard joined Geoff Petrie (1970) as the only players in franchise history to score 30 or more points in five straight games with 34 on Tuesday in a 112-104 over the Brooklyn Nets. Lillard downplayed the big scoring numbers and insisted the small things are the reason for the win streak. “I say it all the time – we don’t have the luxury of coming in and expecting somebody to lay down to us or expecting to win games, period,” Lillard told reporters. “We’ve got to come out, we’ve got to play four quarters, we’ve got to do those small things that make us the team that we’ve become.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. McCollum is 12-of-17 from 3-point range in the last three games.
2. Houston G Marcus Thornton, who was returned to the team after a voided three-team trade, could be back in uniform on Thursday.
3. Portland has taken four of the last five in the series.
PREDICTION: Trail Blazers 102, Rockets 99

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Re: NBA Betting Info. 2/25

Preview: San Antonio At Utah
When: 10:30 PM ET, Thursday, February 25, 2016
Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
The San Antonio Spurs have dominated Utah twice this season and look to make it three consecutive victories over the Jazz in Thursday’s road contest. Both the previous meetings were in San Antonio and the Spurs averaged 120.5 points in the two games while winning by an average of 31 points.
Utah currently possesses the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference and coach Quin Snyder is seeing progress, especially after his club survived a night of miscues to produce a 117-114 overtime victory over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday. “You have to learn how to play through mistakes, you have to learn toughness, and you have to learn how to win,” Snyder told reporters. “This was not a pretty game by any means, but it’s a game that we won. We’ve got a group that’s learning how to do that.” San Antonio All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard (calf) returned from a three-game absence on Wednesday to contribute 18 points and eight rebounds against Sacramento and the defensive issues during his time away quickly evaporated. The Spurs posted a 108-92 over the Kings after allowing an average of 109.7 without Leonard, significantly higher than the NBA-low 92.7 they are giving up for the season.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (San Antonio), ROOT (Utah)
ABOUT THE SPURS (48-9): Point guard Tony Parker is averaging 23.3 points during the past three games and had a solid game against the Kings by scoring 23 points on 11-of-17 shooting to go with six assists. Leonard’s performance was up to the par on the defensive side but he struggled with his shooting rhythm and was just 5-of-16 from the field. “It didn’t feel good at all,” Leonard said afterward. “My teammates did a great job of driving and kicking the ball out to get me some open shots. The rhythm will come.”
ABOUT THE JAZZ (28-28): Small forward Gordon Hayward is on a roll with six 20-point outings in the past seven games and he was highly efficient while scoring 28 points against the Rockets. Hayward took just seven shots — making six — to become the first NBA player since Chauncey Billups (29 in 2006) to score 28 or more points on just seven field-goal attempts. Hayward is averaging 21.9 points during his seven-game hot stretch but is averaging just 11 points against the Spurs this season, including a season-low four Dec. 14.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Jazz have won their past two home games against the Spurs.
2. San Antonio PF LaMarcus Aldridge had just seven points on 2-of-11 against Sacramento and is averaging just 13 points in four games since the All-Star break.
3. Utah PG Shelvin Mack started against the Rockets and is averaging 16.5 points in two games since being acquired from the Atlanta Hawks.
PREDICTION: Spurs 103, Jazz 101