Betting Race

The Chicago Bulls are one state over this evening as they take on Central Division rival Indiana at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Tip off in tonight’s divisional showdown is scheduled for 7:00pm; the game will not be broadcast nationally. The latestNBA Odds have the Pacers listed as a +1 against the spread home dog and the game total set at 190.5.

Chicago has not played its best basketball

of late as the team lost for the third time in its last five games on Wednesday night. The Bulls fell 96-91 at Charlotte to bring their record to a still impressive 25-13.

Chicago, despite its recent slippage, has some margin for error due to its eight game lead in the Central standings. In fact, the Bulls are the only team in the division that owns a winning record.

Tonight’s game, even though it is a rivalry contest, seems like a look ahead situation for Chicago. The Bulls will face the Heat tomorrow night at the United Center, and Derrick Rose has already expressed his excitement about that game.

Indiana, which comes into this evening’s tilt with a 16-20 record, should be on point for the Bulls. The Pacers, winners of two straight, begin a four game Western Conference road swing on Monday, which further cements Chicago as their chief concern.

Indiana has not been overwhelming at home, but it does play a much better brand of basketball at Conseco, where it owns a 10-9 record (6-11 on the road). The Pacers, which lost to the Bulls 92-73 at Chicago in mid-December, took advantage of the depleted Mavericks on Wednesday, scoring a 102-89 home win.

The victory over Dallas gave Indiana its third straight cover at Conseco Fieldhouse.

NBA Odds Betting Trend: The Pacers are 5-2 against the spread over the last two years playing as a home dog coming off a home win (4-3 straight up, Over 6-1).

Bulls vs Pacers NBA Odds – January 14th, 2011:

Chicago Bulls -1 (-110), Over 190.5 (-110)

Indiana Pacers +1 (-110), Under 190.5 (-110)

The rolling Thunder are at home tonight to face the Magic in the first game of a Thursday night NBA double header on TNT. The inter-conference clash is scheduled to tip off at 8:00pm ET at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. NBA Odds have the visiting Magic listed as a -1 against the spread road favorite and the Over/Under set at 204.

Orlando coasted into New Orleans last

night riding a nine game win streak. The Magic had taken care of business both at home and on the road during their impressive run, beating the likes of San Antonio, Boston, New York, and Dallas. However, they were unable to extend their streak thanks to a stingy Hornets squad.

Orlando, which fell 89-92 in overtime, was limited to 39.1 percent field goal shooting and it managed to get to the foul line just 10 times in the marathon outing.Dwight Howard, Jason Richardson, and Ryan Anderson were the only Magic players able to generate any offense as the trio combined for 64 of the team’s 89 points. Howard posted another double-double, scoring 29 points and grabbing 20 boards, while Richardson dropped in 21 points on a 5-for-8 effort from beyond the arc.

The loss dropped Orlando’s record to 25-13 on the season, but it remains four games back of the Heat in the Southeast standings due to the Clippers surprising 111-105 win over Miami last night. The Magic are 10-8 on the road after yesterday’s setback.

Oklahoma City recorded its third straight win last night with a 118-112 victory over the Rockets in Houston. The Thunder hit 51.2 percent of its field goal attempts and knocked in 6-of-15 from three point range to improve to 26-13 and maintain their first place tie with Utah in the Northwest Division.

Kevin Durant, who was a perfect 4-for-4 from downtown, led Oklahoma City with 30 points. Russell Westbrook added 23 points and 13 assists while shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha grabbed 13 boards to help the Thunder secure a 49-35 rebound advantage.

The Thunder, which had lost three of five prior to their recent run, are 14-6 at the Ford Center. OKC’s last home loss came a little over two weeks ago when the Mavericks thumped them 103-93.

NBA Odds Betting Trend: The Thunder are 1-9 straight up and 2-8 against the spread in their last 10 games as a home underdog with a total between 200 and 205.

Magic vs Thunder NBA Odds – January 13th, 2011:

Orlando Magic -1 (-110), Over 204 (-110)

Oklahoma City Thunder +1 (-110), Under 204 (-110)