Lopez scored 38 points and Williams had 31 in his first visit since spurning his hometown team in free agency, leading the Brooklyn Nets past the Mavericks 113-96 on Wednesday night.

Williams scored 26 in the second half, repeatedly hitting shots and occasionally assisting on baskets by Lopez to prevent a Dallas rally in the fourth quarter.

Lopez matched the 38 points he scored in one of the five games he played last season, when the Nets snapped a 12-game losing streak in Dallas. Both times, he finished one point shy of his career high from two years ago against Detroit.

“The team played well in both games,” Lopez said with a laugh. “I think that’s the correlation. It just depends on who’s hot. We have so many options on this team.”

Williams and Lopez combined for a defining play midway through a fourth quarter full of big shots from both teams when Lopez blocked a shot and Williams hit a fadeaway jumper on the baseline after dribbling the length of the court. Williams ran to his bench with a big smile after Dallas called timeout trailing 97-88.

The Mavericks, who pulled within three twice during a back-and-forth quarter, got no closer than six after that.

“When you’re feeling good and feel like you can’t miss, it’s a good feeling,” said Williams, who shot 11 of 18 in the second half at one of his favorite arenas. “I looked over at my bench and saw the excitement. It’s a big win for us. It’s a big win no matter what.”

Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 16 points and had a team-high six rebounds compared to 22 boards for Reggie Evans of the Nets, who outrebounded the Mavericks 45-34.

The Nets improved to 2-0 on a season-high, eight-game road trip that now makes five straight stops out West. Brooklyn is two road wins shy of the franchise record of 20.

The Mavericks, who fell 3 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, lost the opener of a six-game homestand as they try to keep a 12-year postseason streak alive.

“They had two guys who had great games and we didn’t do a good job there,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “It’s a bad result for us.”

Lopez, who set a season high for points, and Williams led a third-quarter run that put Brooklyn ahead for good. Lopez did most of his scoring inside but had a 12-foot bank shot and another jumper from just inside the 3-point line as the Nets built a 10-point lead.

Lopez, who also had 11 rebounds, was 15 of 22 from the field and 8 of 10 from the line.

Williams scored seven of nine Brooklyn points to start the third quarter, and Lopez had the other two. They combined to go 11 of 12 from the field in the third, and the only miss was a desperation heave from beyond halfcourt by Williams at the end of the quarter.

Williams even got into the act on the defensive end, taking a charge from O.J. Mayo on a fast break with the Mavericks trying to stop Brooklyn’s key third-quarter run.

“In the first half we kind of held him under control and then he knocked down a jumper and he was aggressive,” Dallas forward Elton Brand said. “You could see it in his eyes. He was going to shoot it no matter what. We all know about free agency and our fans and us recruiting him. We knew he wanted to play well here.”

Williams, who grew up in the Dallas area, got a smattering of boos during introductions and even fewer the first time he touched the ball. It wasn’t his first game against Dallas since last summer. The Mavericks started March — their best month of the season by far — with a 98-90 win in Brooklyn.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who infamously attended a “Shark Tank” taping instead of joining the Dallas contingent when free agency opened, intentionally stayed away from Brooklyn when the Mavericks visited. He still wasn’t interested in Williams talk Wednesday.

“That’s old, old, old, old news,” Cuban said before the game.

Nets coach P.J. Carlesimo said he didn’t know if Williams was a little extra motivated against the team he turned down so he could move to Brooklyn from New Jersey with the Nets.

“But I’m sure he understands that you’re not going to expect intelligent statements from Mark, anyhow,” Carlesimo said.

The Nets were actually better without Williams in the first half. While he was sitting to start the second quarter, Brooklyn went on an 18-6 run for a 40-38 lead.

Andray Blatche scored 14 in the second quarter for Brooklyn on 6-of-6 shooting, and not all of them were easy. He hit three long jumpers, two of them over Nowitzki.

Game notes

Nowitzki surpassed the 9,000-rebound mark and became the 10th NBA player with at least 24,000 points and 9,000 boards. … Mavericks F Shawn Marion missed his eighth straight game with a left calf strain. … Nets F Kris Humphries was a game-time scratch with a bad back. It was the eighth straight game on the bench for the former Maverick. … The Mavericks spread the scoring wealth in the first half. Nowitzki, Chris Kaman and Mike James led with six points apiece, while Jae Crowder and Brandan Wright each had five.

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Detroit At L.A. Clippers
When: 9:30 PM ET, Sunday, March 10, 2013
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Detroit, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles)
PREDICTION: Clippers 104, Pistons 91

Oddsmakers currently have the Clippers listed as 13-point favorites versus the Pistons, while the game’s total is sitting at 199½.

Detroit got an unexpected boost off the bench from rookie Khris Middletown, who scored a season-high 14 points in the loss to Dallas. Middleton had made only four brief appearances prior to the All-Star break but has started to receive additional playing time in the past three weeks. He was 6-of-12 against the Mavericks and hit a pair of key 3-pointers. ”I have confidence in my shot, and so do my teammates, so I was going to take it when I got an open look,” Middleton said.

Last time out for Detroit, they were a 102-99 loser as they battled the Mavericks at home. The Pistons covered in the match as a 4-point underdog, while 201 combined points moved the game OVER for totals bettors.

Detroit:
Team record: 23-41 SU, 29-35 ATS
Current streak: lost 4 straight games.

is 7-2 SU in their last 9 games when playing on the road against LA Clippers
is 14-5 SU in their last 19 games when playing LA Clippers
is 2-4 ATS in their last 6 games when playing LA Clippers
is 7-15 SU in its last 22 games on the road

When playing on Sunday are 3-7
Before playing Utah are 7-3
After playing Dallas are 3-7
After a loss are 4-6

Point guard Chris Paul is closing in on a major milestone, but the focus in Los Angeles is on the health of sixth man Jamal Crawford. The team’s second-leading scorer had to sit out Thursday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets with a sprained left ankle. The team did not practice Friday and Crawford said his plan was to continue to get treatment in the hope of returning to the lineup. He is averaging 17.2 points and has led Los Angeles in scoring on 19 occasions.

Last time out for Los Angeles, they were a 107-92 loser as they battled the Nuggets on the road. The Clippers failed to cover in the match as a 4-point underdog, while 199 combined points moved the game UNDER for totals bettors.

Los Angeles:
Team record: 44-20 SU, 36-28 ATS

LA Clippers are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games when playing Detroit
LA Clippers are 19-4 SU in their last 23 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of the LA Clippers last 5 games at home
LA Clippers are 9-3 SU in their last 12 games

When playing on Sunday are 5-5
Before playing Memphis are 4-6
After playing Denver are 5-5
After a loss are 5-5

The post Detroit Pistons vs. Los Angeles Clippers Free Betting Pick & Matchup appeared first on IdealCapper.

Phoenix At San Antonio
When: 8:30 PM ET, Saturday, January 26, 2013
Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Arizona (Phoenix) Fox Sports Southwest (San Antonio)
Prediction: Spurs 109, Suns 92

Oddsmakers currently have the Spurs listed as 9-point favorites versus the Suns, while the game’s total is sitting at 199.

Hunter is preaching defense and Phoenix has allowed an average of 92 points in his first two games. “Our focus is to create a defensive mentality, to create a defense presence,” Hunter said. “Our guys are working hard to do it. It’s a difficult thing to just change like that. To see every last guy really buying into it and realizing that regardless of how you shoot the ball, if you can defend you always have a chance to win a game. Our guys have been phenomenal in that area.” Point guard Goran Dragic had 24 points in Thursday’s victory over the Los Angeles Clippers for his second-highest output of the campaign.

In their last action, Phoenix was a 93-88 winner at home against the Clippers. They covered the 6.5-point spread as underdogs, while the combined score (181) was profitable news for UNDER bettors.

Team record: 15-28 SU, 18-24-1 ATS
Current streak: won 2 straight games.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 11 of last 15 games when playing San Antonio
is 4-13 SU in its last 17 games
is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against San Antonio
When playing on Saturday are 4-6
Before playing Dallas are 6-4
After playing LA Clippers are 3-7
After a win are 5-5

Reserve frontcourt player DeJuan Blair stepped up with a season-best 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting in the win over Dallas. His offensive output was timely with Duncan sidelined. “When we play without him, we need everybody,” Blair said. “Everybody has to step up. Tony came back and stepped up when we needed him. I was ready. We were all ready and it was great. It was a pretty fun game.” Parker missed part of the first half to get three stitches after suffering a cut around his left eye. It was the same eye that Parker injured during a New York City nightclub brawl in June.

Last time out for San Antonio, they were a 113-107 winner as they battled the Mavericks on the road. The Spurs covered in the match as a 2-point underdog, while 220 combined points moved the game OVER for totals bettors.

Team record: 35-11 SU, 26-19-1 ATS
Current streak: won 7 straight games.
is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing Phoenix
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of last 7 games at home
When playing on Saturday are 8-2
Before playing Charlotte are 8-2
After playing Dallas are 10-0
After a win are 7-3

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