New York Knicks vs. Los Angeles Clippers Prediction, NBA Odds
The New York Knicks had a back-and-forth weekend, posting a dominating, 39-point win in Denver on Friday before flaming out in Los Angeles against the Lakers on Sunday to start a five-game road trip. That trip continues this evening in Los Angeles with a visit to the Clippers tonight at 10 pm ET.
Los Angeles has won four of five and is again within one game of getting back to .500 after a 6-21 start. This is the third time in the past three weeks that they have been this close. They have not reached that magic number since they were 3-3 in early November.
Knicks vs. Clippers NBA Betting Odds
On the NBA odds board, the Knicks enter this one as two-point road favourites, and are 5-1 against the spread in their last six games. They have won nine of their last 12 road games, but are just 2-5 straight up and against the spread in their last seven against the Clippers.
Los Angeles is just 11-20 as a dog this season, but they are also 5-1 against the spread in their last six games. They are 4-1 ATS in their past five home contests, and they have won 11 of 13 against the Knicks overall.
New York Knicks
Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 16 rebounds, and Jalen Brunson added 24 points, seven assists and six rebounds, but the Knicks, who have lost two of three, never held the lead in the loss to the Lakers on Sunday. With that defeat, New York fell 2.5 games behind Boston for second place in the Eastern Conference.
Shooting 23.5% (8-for-34) from beyond the arc won’t get the job done for New York, which is relatively healthy right now. Reserve guard Deuce McBride, who is averaging 12.9 points per game this season, recently had surgery for a core muscle injury and is expected to be sidelined for the playoffs.
Los Angeles Clippers
Kawhi Leonard had 28 points, Bennedict Mathurin added 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Darius Garland also scored 21 as the Clippers won at Memphis on Saturday, 123-120.
Garland missed nearly seven weeks with an injured toe and was traded from Cleveland to Los Angeles during that time. He’s averaging 15 points and 5.3 assists in three games, all Clippers triumphs. Fellow new arrival Mathurin is averaging 18.4 points and 6.4 rebounds in 11 games since coming over from Indiana. He has been a spark off the bench. John Collins (13.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg) will miss his fifth straight game with a neck injury.
NBA Prediction: Who Will Win Knicks vs. Clippers?
A .500 record is starting to feel like Lucy holding a football to the Clippers’ Charlie Brown. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, Charlie Brown is going to fly in the air and land on his back yet again.
The Knicks sure love playing the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde role at times. A loss to the Lakers on the road is no major upset, but coming off a 39-point thumping of Denver two days earlier is a bit confounding.
Look for Brunson and Towns to right the ship when they head cross-town to the Intuit Dome and knock off the Clippers, 122-113.
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