Pacers try to stay hot vs. Magic

Basketball Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indiana Pacers will try to extend their season-high winning streak to five games when they entertain the Orlando Magic tonight in the opener of a modest two-game homestand.

Indiana has won four in a row and seven of its last nine games, including Friday's 98-87 triumph at Dallas. Paul George sank seven three-pointers en route to a career-high 30 points and also collected nine rebounds and five assists to lead the victors.

David West finished with 20 points and six boards, while Danny Granger added 16 points and five rebounds for the Pacers, who won in Dallas for the first time since January 9, 2004, halting a seven-game skid in Big D. Darren Collison donated 13 points and six assists in the victory.

"Obviously really excited about the win; a team effort indicative of 25 assists on 37 made buckets," Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said. "Stellar defense, in particular in the second half, and in that first half, too; they were hitting a lot of tough shots."

The Pacers will also welcome Utah to Indy and are 6-1 as the host. They are currently 1 1/2 games behind Chicago for the Central Division lead.

Orlando has won back-to-back games since losing four straight and six of eight, and recorded a 102-94 victory versus Cleveland last night at Amway Center courtesy of 19 points and 16 rebounds from All-Star Dwight Howard.

"I just tried to be aggressive on the defensive end and block shots," Howard said. "The last couple of games we've been playing against a lot of quick guards who take it and go. So I was just trying to be the guy back there for us who could block shots and make our defense work."

Jason Richardson scored 19 points as well and Hedu Turkoglu added 18 for the Magic, who shot 42.5 percent and were coming off a win over Washington. Ryan Anderson netted 17 points and Von Wafer added 11 in a reserve role.

The Magic have been without starting point guard Jameer Nelson since January 27 because of concussion-like symptoms and the former Saint Joseph's star will most likely miss tonight's game. After visiting the Pacers, Orlando will play three straight and six of seven games in central Florida. It is 6-5 away from home this season.

Magic center Glen Davis is eligible to return from a two-game suspension Monday. Davis was penalized for conduct detrimental to the team, general manager Otis Smith announced Friday. Davis, who was acquired during the offseason via a trade with the Celtics, missed Friday's game against the Cavaliers and is averaging 7.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 22.3 minutes in 22 games this season.

The Magic handed Indiana its first home loss of the season with a 102-83 victory on Jan. 24, but the Pacers evened the season set thanks to a 106-85 triumph five days later. Orlando is 12-3 in the past 15 meetings with the Pacers, who have dropped four in a row as the host in this series.

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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

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