Saturday 12/17/16 service plays chatter/comps/requests & other stuff...

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

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[superbeets]

Spanish La Liga TODAY 12:00

Sp. Gijon

v

Villarreal

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
SS5		12/5	23/10	6/5	More markets

RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT SP. GIJON	RECENT FORM
A LH LA LH LH WA L​ Most recent​	2 - 0 2 - 0 2 - 3 1 - 1	A DH LA WA DH WH W​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Sporting have not kept a clean sheet in their last eight home matches

EXPERT VERDICT: Sporting have failed to build on a strong start to the season (seven points in three games) and are likely to remain in the drop zone after hosting Villarreal at El Molinon. Villarreal have not won on their league travels for three months but will be targeting victory against Sporting, who have lost five of their last six games.

RECOMMENDATION: Villarreal
1

Premier League TODAY 12:30

C Palace

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Chelsea

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
SS1		5	16/5	3/5	More markets

RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT C PALACE	RECENT FORM
A LH LA LH WA DH L​ Most recent​	0 - 3 1 - 2 1 - 0 0 - 2	H WA WH WA WH WA W​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Chelsea have won ten straight Premier League matches

EXPERT VERDICT: Premier League leaders Chelsea are six points clear at the top and can extend their winning sequence with a victory over London rivals Crystal Palace. The Eagles have had a poor season, losing at home to Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, West Brom and West Ham and the pressure looks set to increase on Alan Pardew.

RECOMMENDATION: Chelsea
2


REFEREE: Jonathan Moss STADIUM:

Premier League TODAY 15:00

West Ham

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Hull

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
		13/20	3	5	More markets

RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT WEST HAM	RECENT FORM
A LA DA LH LA DH W​ Most recent​	3 - 0 2 - 1 2 - 1 3 - 0	A LH DH D*A LH DA L​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Hull have lost their last six away Premier League matches

EXPERT VERDICT: Things are looking bleak for Hull, who are without an away point in the Premier League since early September and four of their eight road encounters saw them lose by at least three goals. The Tigers are toothless on their travels and this should be a home banker with West Ham fancied to build on their 1-0 win over Burnley.

RECOMMENDATION: West Ham
3


REFEREE: Lee Mason STADIUM:

Premier League TODAY 15:00

Middlesbro

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Swansea

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
		11/10	12/5	3	More markets

RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT MIDDLESBRO	RECENT FORM
A DH LA DH WA LH L​ Most recent​	3 - 4 1 - 1 1 - 2 1 - 0	H LA DH WA LH WA L​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Swansea have taken one point from their last seven away matches

EXPERT VERDICT: This is a tough game to call with the draw possibly offering the best value. Swansea have been shocking on the road this season with Wednesday's 3-1 loss to West Brom the latest dismal effort, but Middlesbrough are hard to trust at the moment. Boro have scored just 13 Premier League goals this season and may not do enough to land maximum points.

RECOMMENDATION: Draw
1


REFEREE: Neil Swarbrick STADIUM:

Premier League TODAY 15:00

Sunderland

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Watford

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
		13/8	23/10	19/10	More markets

RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT SUNDERLAND	RECENT FORM
A WH WA LH WA LH L​ Most recent​	0 - 1 4 - 2 2 - 0 0 - 1	A LH WH LA LH WA L​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Sunderland have scored in seven of their nine home matches this season

EXPERT VERDICT: Rock-bottom Sunderland have at least improved at home in recent weeks, beating Leicester and Hull and battling hard before losing 1-0 to leaders Chelsea on Wednesday. That kind of effort can reap rewards against Watford, although the Hornets possess plenty of sting themselves to also get on the scoresheet.

RECOMMENDATION: Both teams to score
2


REFEREE: Robert Madley STADIUM:

Premier League TODAY 15:00

Stoke

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Leicester

	HOME	DRAW	AWAY
		8/5	12/5	19/10	More markets

RECENT FORM	LAST HEAD-TO-HEADSAT STOKE	RECENT FORM
A DH LA WH WA LH D​ Most recent​	2 - 2 0 - 1 2 - 1 0 - 0	H WH DA LA LH WA L​ Most recent​

KEY STAT: Stoke have won only two of their last seven matches against Leicester

EXPERT VERDICT: This could be the perfect chance for champions Leicester to land their first away success of the season against a tired Stoke outfit. The Potters had to play for 65 minutes with ten men against Southampton on Wednesday, whereas Leicester also had an extra day of rest having lost a close encounter 1-0 at Bournemouth on Tuesday.

RECOMMENDATION: Leicester
1


REFEREE: Craig Pawson STADIUM:

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

NHL roundup: Blue Jackets win 8th straight
By The Sports Xchange

CALGARY, Alberta -- Four different players scored Friday as the Columbus Blue Jackets extended their winning streak to eight games by smothering the Calgary Flames 4-1.
Boone Jenner, Brandon Saad, Sam Gagner and Matt Calvert scored for the Blue Jackets and Sergei Bobrovsky made 22 saves. Zach Werenski chipped in with two assists.
Sean Monahan replied for the Flames, who have dropped back-to-back home games after compiling a six-game winning streak that ended with a 6-3 loss to Tampa Bay on Wednesday.
Chad Johnson faced 29 shots in the Calgary goal.

Kings 1, Penguins 0 (SO)
PITTSBURGH -- Tyler Toffoli scored 1:00 into overtime to give Los Angeles a win over Pittsburgh, halting its winning streak at seven games.
Toffoli scored off of a three-on-one created when Pittsburgh's Phil Kessel snapped his stick on a shot attempt at the other end and had to go to the Penguins bench to fetch another.
The Kings' Peter Budaj, who started for the 26th time in 28 games, made 39 saves for his third shutout of the season. Matt Murray made 27 saves for the Penguins, but had his personal five-game winning streak stopped.

Sabres 3, Islanders 2 (OT)
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Rasmus Ristolainen scored 42 seconds into overtime to lift Buffalo over New York.
Johan Larsson and Matt Moulson also scored for the Sabres and Robin Lehner made 33 saves.
Ryan Strome and Alan Quine scored for the Islanders, who have lost four games in a row. Jean-Francois Berube made 34 saves in his first start of the season.

Sharks 4, Canadiens 2
MONTREAL -- San Jose scored early and never looked back, skating away with a win over Montreal at the Bell Centre.
David Schlemko, Patrick Marleau, Timo Meier and Melker Karlsson scored for the Sharks, who won their fourth straight.
The Canadiens got goals from Brian Flynn and Jeff Petry.

Capitals 4, Hurricanes 3 (SO)
RALEIGH, N.C. -- T.J. Oshie scored late in the third period to tie it and added a shootout goal as Washington won its sixth straight, defeating Carolina.
Alex Ovechkin and Justin Williams also scored for the Capitals in regulation.
Justin Faulk, Jeff Skinner and Teuvo Teravainen scored for the Hurricanes in regulation.

Canucks 4, Lightning 2
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Bo Horvat took advantage of a lucky bounce to score a power-play goal in the third period as Vancouver snapped a three-game losing skid by beating Tampa Bay.
Brandon Sutter, Luca Sbisa, with his first goal of the season, and Alex Burrows, into an empty net, also scored for the Canucks. Loui Eriksson and Markus Granlund had two assists each for the Canucks.
Victor Hedman and Cory Conacher scored for the Lightning.

Panthers 3, Avalanche 1
DENVER -- Jason Demers had a goal and an assist, James Reimer posted 30 saves and Florida beat Colorado.
Reilly Smith had a short-handed goal early in the third period that proved to be the winner and Michael Matheson also scored for the Panthers.
Fedor Tyutin had a goal and Calvin Pickard stopped 20 shots for the Avalanche.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Flyers (19-10) at Stars (12-14)

Date: December 17, 2016 2:00 PM EDT

DALLAS -- The Philadelphia Flyers aren't getting caught up in their current win streak.

Philadelphia (19-10-3) has won 10 straight games for the third time in franchise history and is looking extend the hot streak against the Dallas Stars (12-14-6) on Saturday at American Airlines Center.

While many teams are superstitious and avoid talking about winning streaks, the Flyers are embracing it and openly talking about a mark they hope to push to 11 games.

"I've never been part of anything like that, it's been absolutely amazing," Flyers right wing Jakub Voracek said. "You've got to enjoy it while it lasts ... it shows you how good we play this season, enjoy it."

The Flyers last won 10 straight games in 1985.

Philadelphia has been the hottest team in the league for a month and special teams have been a key factor. It is second in the NHL on the power play and converting at 23.5 percent.

The Flyers scored on three of their four power plays against the Stars on Dec 10. Claude Giroux leads the NHL with 15 power-play points. Wayne Simmonds is second in the league with 14 power-play points and leads the NHL with eight goals with the man advantage.

"We've all played together for a long time," Simmonds said. "It's kind of like second nature with the puck and knowing where all your options are. We often have two to four options per guy, no matter who has the puck. I think that's the key for us and makes it a lot easier."

The Stars are on the other end of the spectrum and trying to bounce back from a 2-0 loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday. After entering the season as one of the trendy picks to reach the Stanley Cup Finals, the Stars are outside of the playoff picture after 32 games and the offense hasn't been firing on a consistent basis.

It's been particularly frustrating on the power play, where the Stars had looks but couldn't convert on five opportunities against the Rangers.

"We need results now," Stars forward Jason Spezza said. "I'd much rather have a an ugly 2-for-5 (on the power play) than a pretty 0-for-5."

Dallas will be without center Cody Eakin, who was suspended four games by the NHL Player for charging Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist.

With Eakin out, Spezza will move back to his traditional role of center, while Curtis McKenzie will be back in the lineup after missing back-to-back games with an upper-body injury.

McKenzie had four points in his past five games before he sustained the injury.

"It was a bit frustrating with how I had been playing," McKenzie said. "I feel good (today). I was able to keep skating with the injury, so it won't be that big of an adjustment."

The Stars are expected to give Antti Niemi another start in goal after he had a strong start against the Rangers. Niemi is 6-2-1 at American Airlines Center this season and has a 1.89 goals-against average and .940 save percentage.

Niemi will likely go up against Steve Mason in the Philadelphia goal. Mason has won his last eight starts and rebounded from a tough start to the season, where he once had a 5-8-3 record.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Coyotes (11-14) at Wild (17-8)

Date: December 17, 2016 2:00 PM EDT

SAINT PAUL, Minn. --The Arizona Coyotes wrap up a four-game road trip on Saturday afternoon with a stop in snowy, frozen Minnesota to face one of the league's hottest teams before returning to The Valley of the Sun.

Minnesota is riding a six-game winning streak overall after a 5-2 win in Nashville on Thursday night to give the Wild at least a point in 11 of their last 12 games (8-1-3).

Much of the credit for Minnesota's recent success goes to former Coyote and current Wild goaltender, Devan Dubnyk. The league leader in goals-against average and save percentage, Dubnyk is 8-0-2 in his past 10 starts with a 1.65 GAA and .944 save percentage.

"We weren't at our best but our goalie was," Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau said after Dubnyk's 34-save performance against Nashville. "It seems like he gets into that zone there and he says that nothing else is going to beat him."

The Wild survived on three first-period goals and a pair of late empty netters against Nashville, relying on Dubnyk in between as the Predators outshot Minnesota 23-9 over the final two periods.

"We've got a solid team and a great goalie right now," said veteran Minnesota center Eric Staal who scored his eighth and ninth goals of the season on Thursday. "We got the job done, now we've got to keep going, big one on Saturday."

It appears as though Arizona may catch a break as Wild backup goaltender Darcy Kuemper is expected to get the nod from Boudreau in Saturday's matinee match-up. Kuemper is 2-2-1 this season and was in goal for Minnesota's last regulation loss on Nov. 29 in Vancouver.

Not that it would necessarily matter to Arizona, however, as the Coyotes have played well of late in St. Paul. While Minnesota has had the upper hand in the last 11 overall meetings between the clubs (8-1-2), Arizona is 7-2-2 in its last 11 visits to Xcel Energy Center.

Boudreau knows full well what his team is up against.

"I've played that team a lot and they've always, always been a tough team to play against and I don't expect anything different," Boudreau said. "(Arizona coach Dave Tippett) is a very structured coach and they will play their game. It's not going to be a cakewalk. If anybody thinks it is then they're vastly mistaken."

After dropping six in a row, the Coyotes have won three of four and two straight on this road trip after Thursday's 3-2 shootout win over Toronto. Much like the Wild, goaltending has been a huge factor in Arizona's surge.

Coyotes starting goaltender Mike Smith stopped 125 of 129 shots in that trio of wins, including 44 against a Maple Leafs team whose offense has proven to be quite potent at Air Canada Center.

"He was really good, excellent," Tippett said. "That's what you've seen from him the last little bit here. We're still giving up too many chances but he's been there to clean a lot of it up."

Smith has indeed had a lot to clean up for an Arizona team allowing a league-high 35.8 shots per game. Despite playing just 16 games due to a knee injury costing him a dozen potential starts, Smith has faced 40 or more shots six times which leads the NHL.

Smith set a career-high and a franchise record for saves in a game when he stopped 58 of 60 Columbus shots in a Dec. 3 shootout loss to the Blue Jackets. The 58 saves were also the most saves in a game by any NHL goalie this season and it was only the 4th time in the last 25 years a goalie had 58 saves or more in a regular season game.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Devils (12-11) at Senators (16-11)

Date: December 17, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

OTTAWA -- The Ottawa Senators lost their first-line left winger and third-leading scorer when Mike Hoffman was suspended by the league for two games Friday afternoon.

Ottawa will be hoping a guy like Bobby Ryan can pick up the slack when the New Jersey Devils visit Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday night for the first of three games between the teams this season.

Hoffman, who has nine goals and 21 points in 28 games, was disciplined for cross-checking San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture in the back of the head Wednesday. That game also saw Ryan, a four-time 30-goal scorer, end a slump at 16 games with his fourth of the season.

"It was a big one I guess, it had been awhile," said Ryan, one of a number of players whose productivity has taken a hit under the system of coach Guy Boucher. "We're all frustrated by it, when you're not scoring, but I think you guys talk about it and write about it and put much more emphasis on it. I don't worry about it. As long as we're winning, I don't care. If I score one goal for the rest of the year and we make the playoffs, and make a run, I don't care one bit.

"That being said, you hope there's a domino effect and you can contribute."

While the Senators (16-11-3) have taken just three of the available 10 points from their last five games, Boucher was pleased with what he saw in the 4-3 shootout loss to the Sharks.

Mike Condon will get the start in goal again on Saturday, while the blue line will be bolstered by rugged Mark Borowiecki, the NHL's leader in hits who is coming off a two-game suspension of his own.

Meanwhile, the Devils (12-11-6) are also struggling to get some traction. Their 5-2 loss to St. Louis on Thursday was their fourth in a row, a span that has seen them outscored 19-5.

New Jersey's difficulties have come on the road, where it is 4-10-4 and the only team in the conference with double-digit losses as the visitors.

"It's a big concern, I mean we're here to win," said Devils goalie Cory Schneider. "We're here to win games and make the playoffs and be relevant here in the standings, and when you go on losing streaks it's hard to recover. It's really hard to play catch-up later in the year with three point games, playing against your division all the time.

"It's really difficult to make up ground, so we have to find a way to put the brakes on the skid and go on a streak of our own. It's tough to lose three, four, five in a row and survive after that."

Past history between the clubs favors the Devils, who were 3-0-0 versus Ottawa last season while outscoring the Senators 14-7. New Jersey has won its last three games at Canadian Tire Centre and is 6-2-1 against the Senators since the 2013-14 season.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Canadiens (19-6) at Capitals (18-7)

Date: December 17, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals go for their seventh straight win Saturday night against a Montreal Canadiens team looking to avoid a third straight loss.

T.J. Oshie scored the tying goal in the third period and added one of Washington's two shootout scores as the Capitals (19-7-3) won at Carolina, 4-3 on Friday night for their sixth win a row.

It was Oshie's 37th career shootout goal and his third-period tally was his 10th of the season. Oshie missed seven games with an upper-body injury -- during which time the Capitals went 3-3-1 -- and Washington's winning streak coincides with his return.

"He's a big part of our team. There's no question," Capitals coach Barry Trotz told the Washington Post. "We missed his ability on the power play. He's one of the best on that diamond spot. Just what he brings to the team all over, energy and just his personality and all that."

That power play clicking once again. The Capitals have scored a power-play goal in six of their last seven games and have scored 13 in their last 14 games. Alex Ovechkin scored with the man advantage Friday night, his 14th goal of the season.

The Canadiens fell behind 4-0 to the San Jose Sharks at home Friday night before scoring twice in the third period of a 4-2 loss.

"We know we have to be better, play with more urgency early on, stay out of the box and roll four lines," Montreal's Max Pacioretty said. "Just dug too big of a hole to dig ourselves out of."

Montreal (19-7-4) got third-period goals from Brian Flynn and Jeff Petry.

"It's unacceptable," Canadiens defenseman Nathan Beaulieu said of the slow start. "But I liked the way we finished, and we've got to carry that over to (Saturday) in Washington."

Goalie Carey Price allowed four goals on 18 shots before being replaced by Al Montoya, who had been slated to start versus Washington. It was the first time since Oct. 13, 2014 that Price was pulled from a game.

Coach Michel Therrien announced after the game that Price would now get the start against the Capitals.

"Pricey didn't get pulled because he wasn't good enough," Beaulieu said. "He's the best player in the world and he's our best player. It had nothing to do with him -- it was us. Sometimes we need a wake-up call."

Back-up Philipp Grubauer was in goal Friday for Washington, and Braden Holtby will start against the Canadiens. He's 8-0-2 in 11 games against them with a 1.60 goals against average and a .944 save percentage.

Ovechkin has 22 goals and 18 assists in 39 games versus Montreal.

Justin Williams also scored for Washington against the Hurricanes. After scoring two goals in 23 games, he has five goals in his last five games.

"Yes, the last few games we've won, but we've just played better," Williams added. "And we didn't give up when some calls didn't go our way. That's just the way it is sometimes and you have to battle through it. I love the way we persevered."

Price is 5-9-4 in 18 games versus Washington with a 3.08 GAA and .898 save percentage.

Montreal winger Andrew Shaw was a late scratch Friday, as the team announced he would miss the game with concussion-like symptoms that developed late Thursday afternoon. He won't make the trip to Washington.

Canadiens winger Sven Andrighetto left the game against San Jose in the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return. He was also ruled out for Saturday's game, leading the Canadiens to call up forward Chris Terry from the AHL's St. John's IceCaps after the game.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Penguins (20-7) at Maple Leafs (11-11)

Date: December 17, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

TORONTO -- The Pittsburgh Penguins had their seven-game winning streak stopped Friday night when they lost 1-0 in overtime to the Los Angeles Kings.

The Stanley Cup champions will try to start a new streak Saturday night at Air Canada Centre when they play the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have one win in their past seven games.

The Maple Leafs have lost their past two games by 3-2 scores in shootouts with the San Jose Sharks and the Arizona Coyotes.

Another streak ended for the Penguins on Friday -- Sydney Crosby's nine-game point streak. He leads the NHL with 21 goals and has points in 20 of 25 games this season.

Matt Murray made his fifth consecutive start for the Penguins on Friday and had 27 saves.

"They did a good job of packing it in and kept us to the outside for the most part, but we played really well," Murray said. "It was just one of those nights."

The Penguins picked up another injury on their defense. They already are without Kris Letang for about two weeks with a lower body injury incurred against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. Derrick Pouliot was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to take Letang's spot.

The Penguins lost defenseman Trevor Daley to an upper-body injury in the second period on Friday and he was still being evaluated.

Brian Dumoulin was hit by a puck in the cheek in the third period but was able to return.

"Those are two guys we need, and who play a lot of minutes," Dumoulin said of Letang and Daley.

Pouliot had played one game against the Sharks earlier this season and played more than 18 minutes on Friday.

"I thought he did a real nice job," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "He kept his game simple. I thought he played within himself. He was playing with confidence. He used his mobility out there. I thought he had a strong game for his first game back."

Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri will be trying to stop Crosby.

"I don't think our game plan is to come out, have a shootout and trade chances," Kadri said. "That's not going to work in our favor. We have to be patient, we have to be defensively in sync."

The Maple Leafs have made a change in their backup goaltender for the game Saturday. They have recalled Jhonas Enroth from the Marlies and loaned Antoine Bibeau to the AHL club.

Enroth had cleared waivers recently before being assigned to the Marlies and Bibeau played well in a loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday. Enroth made 24 saves in a 5-3 win over Hartford Dec. 10 in his only start for the Marlies. He has a 3.94 goals-against average in four starts for Toronto.

The Maple Leafs learned Friday that they will be without defenseman Martin Marincin for four to six weeks. He suffered a lower-body injury in the win over the Bruins in Boston on Saturday when he went hard into the boards.

The first diagnosis was that the injury was not serious, coach Mike Babcock said, but his condition did not improve. Frank Corrado, who has seldom played, might be the replacement for Marincin.

The Maple Leafs know what they need to do to get back to winning.

"We play well with the puck, we have to learn better to play without it," goaltender Frederik Andersen said.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Sabres (11-11) at Hurricanes (12-11)

Date: December 17, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres will meet three times in less than a month starting Saturday night at PNC Arena, with each team coming off different outcomes in games that were pushed past regulation 24 hours ago.

The Sabres continued their good play recently with an overtime victory Friday night at home against the New York Islanders, while the Hurricanes saw their seven-game home winning streak end in a 4-3 shootout loss to Washington.

Buffalo won the season series against the Hurricanes 3-0 last year and is 6-3-2 in its last 11 games.

In general, the Hurricanes have had difficulties holding third-period leads, and that was the case again against the Capitals with Carolina allowing the tying goal with 6:04 left in regulation.

"We'll be back in there again," coach Bill Peters said of the matchup against Buffalo. "This loss (to Washington) wasn't for a lack of chances. We were pushing, we were aggressive, we stayed on our toes."

Washington had just seven shots midway through the game, but then started to play more physical against a Carolina team that likes to skate and play fast.

"We want to compete and make them pay on the scoreboard when teams get physical with us," Peters said. "When it's physical let's dig in. It's Christmas time so it's better to give them receive."

Peters admitted that a few players were "dinged up" after the Washington game but he'll likely go with the same lineup as he did Friday night,' including goalie Cam Ward, who will be making his 19th start in the last 21 games.

"The nice part is we come back and do it again," Jeff Skinner said of the back-to-back scenario. "We sometimes have gotten away from our game trying to protect the lead. We have to stay on the forecheck and keep doing good things."

"There are ways of making it easier on ourselves and finding ways to win games," added Jordan Staal.

The Sabres, despite a slow start to the season, have the attention of Staal and his teammates.

"They are playing well and there is never an easy game in this league. We're going to need these points to keep moving forward," he said.

Buffalo has been one of them more injury-riddled teams in the league but is now starting to get healthy.

"If you asked me at the 22-game mark I don't think we had gotten our identity of our team and how we wanted to play because of injuries to key guys, but we've played some good hockey and had some good games," said Buffalo coach Dan Bylsma. "But here recently we've started to get some players back and you're seeing how our ream can play. Look at some of the games we've taken over. That's really kind of getting to how we're going to play moving forward."

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Ducks (16-10) at Red Wings (13-14)

Date: December 17, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings are struggling to score goals but they don't plan to sacrifice defense in order to create more offense.

The Red Wings (13-14-4) host the Anaheim Ducks (16-10-5) Saturday at 7 p.m. at Joe Louis Arena.

Detroit has scored three goals during their four-game winless streak -- all at home -- (0-3-1). It ranks second-to-last in the NHL in goals per game (2.19), shots per game (28.1) and the power play (13.3 percent).

"The best offense comes from good defense," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill told www.mlive.com. "I think the biggest thing is you have to be fast out of your zone, you have to be fast in the D-zone to make sure you're spending enough time (in the offensive zone). Then it comes down to winning battles.

"We want to create lots of rushes. We've been a pretty good rush team. That's how you open it up. We'd like to create lots of chances without giving up any rushes. I don't think the answer is to start giving up lots of chances. The answer is to continue to limit chances, but bear down a little more offensively."

Captain Henrik Zetterberg doesn't think it is time to start taking risks.

"I don't think you want to change the way you play in the neutral zone or in your own end," he said. "I think we just have to find ways, again, to get more pucks on net and that comes down to us forwards, it comes down to our defensemen."

Several players are in goal-scoring slumps. Gustav Nyquist has one goal in his past 25 games. He and Tomas Tatar have scored just four goals each. Riley Sheahan has no goals in 31 games.

The Ducks have won seven of their last 10, including a 4-3 win at the Boston Bruins on Thursday night, despite giving up two goals in 13 seconds in the first period.

That put Anaheim down 2-0, 13 minutes into the game and Ducks Randy Carlyle called a timeout.

To me, I think I've been negligent in a couple (prior) situations," Carlyle told the Los Angeles Daily News. "Two goals in 13 seconds -- hey, we have to settle this thing down. That's all we tried to do.

"Just stop, guys. Stop what's going on. Reset ourselves. Go back into what we do. Do our thing."

Rickard Rakell scored the tiebreaking and game-winning goal early in the second period and Andrew Cogliano, Kevin Bieksa and Josh Manson also scored. Jonathan Bernier made 31 saves.

Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf would not divulge what Carlyle said during the timeout.

"It's a secret," Getzlaf said. "I can't say. Can't tell. It's the same thing every coach does. It's a matter of calming down and playing our game. We're not trying to reinvent the wheel out there. We just weren't playing up to our caliber.

"You can stop the momentum a little bit and our guys did a good job responding."

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Rangers (21-10) at Predators (13-12)

Date: December 17, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

Nothing Henrik Lundqvist does surprises the New York Rangers. Thursday night was merely the latest example in the goalie's All-Star career.

Returning to action after missing four games while Antti Raanta played superbly in his place, Lundqvist teamed with Raanta for a 2-0 shutout at Dallas.

Lundqvist didn't get the shutout, as he sat out 5:31 of the first period while in concussion protocol after being leveled behind the net by Stars center Cody Eakin. Fortunately for Lundqvist, he was able to return and stopped 27 shots for the win.

"I felt really good, but I could tell I hadn't played in a little while," Lundqvist said. "It was a little weird to be out there at first. I am not used to having a week (off). I felt fresh and excited to be out there."

While the Rangers didn't practice Friday, Lundqvist might be back in the lineup Saturday night when they finish their brief two-game road trip against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

At 21-10-1, New York leads the NHL in wins and is tied with Pittsburgh for first place in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers only got better with the return of Lundqvist and Rick Nash (groin), who was idle for four games before breaking a scoreless tie in the third period at Dallas with a shorthanded goal.

New York coach Alain Vigneault was alternately happy with his team and furious with Eakin, who received a major penalty and game misconduct for the hit, and earned a four-game suspension from the NHL on Friday.

"They better do something about that and they better take care of business," Vigneault said. "As far as Hank's play, there's no doubt he played extremely well. He did what we expected and he gave us a real solid performance."

Meanwhile, Nashville (13-12-4) took a step backward Thursday night with a 5-2 home loss to Minnesota. Playing their first game after rallying from a 3-0 deficit Tuesday night to bag a 6-3 win over St. Louis, the Predators gave up two goals in 29 seconds late in the first period and never caught up.

It was the ninth straight game, dating to Nov. 27, that Nashville has allowed at least three goals.

"I thought our game was pretty good five-on-five," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. "We let it slip for two minutes. We probably played 50 to 55 minutes that we really liked."

But blown defensive assignments continued to color Nashville's recent efforts. After going 9-3-2 in November, it is now 2-4-1 in December. Goalie Pekka Rinne, the NHL's First Star for November with a 1.49 goals-against average and .949 save percentage, has a save percentage of .848, although the defense in front of him hasn't helped.

"Everyone has to make a conscious effort to be better," Predators captain Mike Fisher said.

Saturday night's game will also mark the first game for Rangers left winger Jimmy Vesey in Nashville. A third-round pick by the Predators in the 2012 Entry Draft, Vesey opted not to sign with the organization after completing a great career at Harvard and wound up in New York after declining to sign with Buffalo, which acquired his rights via trade in June.

The reception for Vesey, who has 10 goals and seven assists in 31 games, is expected to be harsh.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Blackhawks (20-8) at Blues (17-10)

Date: December 17, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

ST. LOUIS -- The matchup between the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues will be one of the highlights of the NHL season on Jan. 2, when the two teams meet outdoors in the Winter Classic at Busch Stadium.

Coach Ken Hitchcock and the Blues have not even begun to think about that game, however. They have another game with the visiting Blackhawks first, coming up on Saturday night.

Chicago comes into the game off a 5-4 win over the Islanders on Thursday night in New York, improving to 4-0-1 in its last five games. One of the keys to the win was a revived power play, which produced three goals. That was one more goal than the Blackhawks had scored on the power-play in their previous games this month.

That power-play will be put to the test against St. Louis, which beat the New Jersey Devils 5-2 on Thursday night to improve its home record to 11-0-3 in the last 14 games.

The Blues killed off two power play chances for the Devils, and have now killed off 19 of opponent's last 20 chances with a man advantage. They own the second-best penalty kill percentage in the league.

For the season, St. Louis allowed only five power-play goals in 62 chances in their 18 home games.

That's just one of the reasons behind the success at Scottrade Center, where Jake Allen -- expected to start in goal for the seventh consecutive game -- is 11-0-2 this season.

Key to Thursday night's win, in addition to one goal and two assists from a red-hot Vladimir Tarasenko, was goals from three forwards who have been struggling to score this season.

Jori Lehtera scored his fourth goal in 26 games, Patrik Berglund his second in 31 games (into an empty net) and Nail Yakupov his third in 19 games.

Getting more contributions from those players would increase the Blues' chances of continuing to play so well at home.

"It seems at home we've got some good chemistry going," said defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who also scored against the Devils. "We rotated pretty much everybody tonight, and everybody had good legs."

Added Tarasenko, "I feel like we feel more confident here. So now we have a job to do to -- figure out why our road record (4-9-1) is not really good. I feel pretty good about our team this year and we still have a lot of time. We believe in our work, we believe in our coaching staff and try to stay as close as we can together to try and win games like this."

The Blackhawks will be without starting goalie Corey Crawford, who has been out since undergoing an appendectomy on Dec. 3. He skated on Thursday for the first time since the surgery but there is still no timetable for his return.

Center Jonathan Toews did return to the lineup this week after a back injury forced him to miss nine games.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Grand Salami - December

The Grand Salami in pro hockey is decided by adding up all the goals scored in every game scheduled for that particular day. You can wager on 'over' or 'under' the Grand Salami total. The total is set by adding up all listed 'over/under' odds for each game on that particular day.

Note: The Grand Salami will have no action if any game is suspended or cancelled before the regulation time of three twenty minute periods. Also, regardless of the number of goals scored during the shoot out portion of the overtime, the final scored recorded for the game will give the winning team on more goal than its opponent based on the score at the end of regulation time.

*The majority of sportsbooks do not put out a total on the Grand Salami when there is only one game on the card. For tracking purposes, we will continue to show the 'over/under' for goals and combined goals scored on days with just one game.

NHL GRAND SALAMI
Date No. of Games Total Goals Combined Goals Scored Result
12/1 12 64.5 70 OVER
12/2 2 10 8 UNDER
12/3 12 63 58 UNDER
12/4 7 36 40 OVER
12/5 4 21 30 OVER
12/6 9 49.5 49 UNDER
12/7 4 20.5 29 OVER
12/8 10 54.5 58 OVER
12/9 6 30.5 26 UNDER
12/10 10 53 68 OVER
12/11 8 42 32 UNDER
12/12 2 10.5 10 UNDER
12/13 10 54.5 69 OVER
12/14 4 21.5 30 OVER
12/15 8 42.5 49 OVER
12/16 7 37 34 UNDER
12/17 10 - - -
12/18 6 - - -
12/19 5 - - -
12/20 12 - - -
12/21 2 - - -
12/22 10 - - -
12/23 12 - - -
12/24 No games scheduled - - -
12/25 No games scheduled - - -
12/26 No games scheduled - - -
12/27 10 - - -
12/28 5 - - -
12/29 12 - - -
12/30 4 - - -
12/31 11 - - -

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

NBA roundup: Rockets set league 3-point record
By The Sports Xchange

HOUSTON -- James Harden posted his second consecutive triple-double while Eric Gordon scored a season-high 29 points as the Houston Rockets turned another record-setting performance into a 122-100 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night at Toyota Center.
The Rockets (20-7) stretched their winning streak to nine games by setting league records for 3-pointers made (24) and attempted (61). Houston finished one trey shy of matching the old record of 23, which they shared with the Golden State Warriors, on Wednesday night in their 34-point win over the Sacramento Kings. Houston held the mark for 3-pointers attempted (50), which they set in Sacramento on Nov. 25.
Harden finished with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists to set a new franchise mark with his 15th triple-double. Gordon shot 10 for 17 in 27 minutes off the bench while forward Trevor Ariza finished with 20 points on 5-for-14 3-point shooting.

Celtics 96, Hornets 88
BOSTON -- Isaiah Thomas returned to the lineup with a bang and Boston ended its three-game losing streak with a fourth-quarter explosion.
Thomas, who missed four games with a groin strain, scored 26 points and Al Horford added 18 to lead the Celtics to a victory over Kemba Walker-less Charlotte.
Walker, Charlotte's leading scorer, missed the game because of a personal issue and will rejoin the team Saturday night in Atlanta. His team clearly missed him, shooting just 32.7 percent from the floor in the Hornets' fourth straight loss.

Magic 118, Nets 111
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Evan Fournier scored 21 points, including 11 points in the final 2:20, to spark Orlando to a victory over Brooklyn at Amway Arena.
The Magic snapped a six-game home losing streak. The Nets lost their eight consecutive game on the road.
Magic reserve center Nikola Vucevic, returning from a three-game absence, had 21 points and 10 rebounds in a reserve role. Serge Ibaka contributed 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Wizards 122, Pistons 108
WASHINGTON -- John Wall had 29 points and 10 assists, and Bradley Beal scored 25 points as Washington dominated Detroit in a win.
Otto Porter scored 15 points for the Wizards, who outscored the Pistons 68-50 during the second and third quarters for a 95-77 lead.
The combination of shooting 57.9 percent from the field, sinking 12 of 25 3-pointers and committing only five turnovers more than did in the Pistons.

Bucks 95, Bulls 69
CHICAGO -- Just like the night before, Milwaukee had little trouble defeating Chicago at the United Center.
The Bucks picked up where they left off Thursday in Milwaukee, handing the Bulls a loss for Chicago's biggest margin of defeat this season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way with 22 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds for Milwaukee, which got double-figure scoring from six players.

Hawks 125, Raptors 121
TORONTO -- Dwight Howard scored 27 points and added 15 rebounds and Atlanta held on to defeat Toronto.
The Hawks lost 128-84 in their previous visit to the Air Canada Centre on Dec. 3.
The loss ended the Raptors' four-game winning streak. They have won 10 of their past 12 games.

Lakers 100, 76ers 89
PHILADELPHIA -- Julius Randle had 25 points and nine rebounds, Lou Williams added 18 points and Los Angeles snapped an eight-game losing streak with a victory over Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center.
D'Angelo Russell and Nick Young also had 15 points apiece for the Lakers, who won for the first time since Nov. 30 at Chicago. Jordan Clarkson scored 10 points and Larry Nance Jr. swept 11 rebounds.
Russell appeared in his fourth game after missing 11 straight games while receiving platelet-rich plasma therapy on his right knee.

Clippers 102, Heat 98
MIAMI -- Blake Griffin scored 20 points and DeAndre Jordan added 19 rebounds and three blocks to lead Los Angeles to a victory over Miami at AmericanAirlines Arena.
With the Clippers leading 100-98 and nine seconds left, Chris Paul missed a second free throw, giving Miami an opening. But Jordan grabbed the rebound and hit a put-back to end the game.
Jordan, who had his ninth double-double of the season, added 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. JJ Redick and Chris Paul had 17 points each as the Clippers won their fourth game in a row.
Miami had its two-game win streak snapped.

Kings 96, Grizzlies 92
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- There were some unfamiliar and uncomfortable moments for Memphis guard Mike Conley and former Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger, but it was Joerger who had the happy return with Sacramento to the FedExForum after the Kings held on for a win before a crowd of 15,987.
The Kings, losers of six of their last eight going into the game, built as much as a 15-point lead midway through the third quarter with balanced scoring against a Memphis team that struggled offensively in Conley's first game back since suffering fractures in his lower back on Nov. 28.
Memphis, as it had through much of a 7-2 run in Conley's absence, turned up the defensive pressure and made a run in the fourth quarter, closing to 95-92 on the second of back-to-back 3-pointers by Troy Daniels with 55 seconds to play.

Jazz 103, Mavericks 100
SALT LAKE CITY -- Rodney Hood scored 15 points and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 0.8 of a second left to help Utah claim a victory over Dallas.
Hood's game-winning basket came after the Mavericks tied it at 100 on a fadeaway jumper from Harrison Barnes with 45.4 seconds remaining to cap a 14-3 run. Dallas had a chance to take the lead, but Deron Williams missed a go-ahead 3-pointer seconds before Hood pushed the ball up the court and scored.
Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 10 rebounds for his sixth straight double-double for Utah. Gordon Hayward and Trey Lyles added 13 points apiece for the Jazz, which won for the 10th time in the last 12 games. The Jazz made 37 of 65 shots from the floor (56.9 percent).

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Suns (8-18) at Thunder (15-11)

Date: December 17, 2016 5:00 PM EDT

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Like every team in the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder were hit hard with the news that TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager succumbed to his battle with Leukemia Thursday afternoon.

Friday after practice, the Thunder players had a chance to express their thoughts on the man they all grew up watching.

"I think he was an incredible ambassador for our league," Thunder forward Nick Collison said. "If you look at how popular the league is now and where it came from, he was a part of all that. He was in everybody's living room at home. I got a chance to talk to him quite a bit. These last couple of years when he was sick, he really made an impact on a lot of people. He made an impact on myself."

Phoenix coach Earl Watson, who once played for the Thunder, also had nothing but high praise for Sager.

"Every genius, they're not afraid of being who they are," Watson told Azcentral.com. "He was a genius at his job, a genius at everything he's done. We all embraced him. It's like a great quote, I don't know who said it: 'Be who you are, the world will adjust.' And he's the greatest example of that."

According to a Thunder official, they do have something special planned to honor Sager.

On the court, the Thunder (15-11) come into Saturday night's contest with Phoenix riding a two-game losing streak. They fell to Portland and Utah on back to back nights earlier in the week.

However, both contests took place without guard Victor Oladipo, the team's second-leading scorer. Oladipo took a hard fall against Boston last week that knocked the wind out of him. In the process, he hurt his right wrist, which is why he sat out the two games.

Without Oladipo, the Thunder are missing 16 points a game and the only other player outside of Russell Westbrook who can drive to the rim and make plays. But more importantly, they are missing their best defender in the back court.

"Defensively and offensively, he is a big part of our family," Enes Kanter said. "Every game we need him bad. I just wish he gets well soon and gets to play with us."

According to Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan, Oladipo will be re-evaluated Friday to determine if he will be available to play against Phoenix.

Even though the Suns (8-18) own the third-worst record in the Western Conference, playing them shorthanded at the guard spot is not an ideal situation.

The combination of Eric Bledsoe, Devin Booker, TJ Warren and Brandon Knight average 68.9 points.

Bledsoe has been especially dangerous for the Suns in the fourth quarter. Only Oklahoma City's Westbrook has scored more points than Bledsoe in the clutch, which is the last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime with no team leading by more than five points.

"I'm just being more aggressive," Bledsoe told ArizonaSports.com, "being confident; taking the shot and living with it."

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Pacers (13-14) at Pistons (14-13)

Date: December 17, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

A couple of NBA Central Division rivals mired in mediocrity will be looking for bounce-back performances on Saturday night.

The first of four meetings between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons will take place at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

The Pacers (13-14) have lost their last two games and the Pistons (14-14) are stuck in a win-one, lose-one cycle.

After a victory in Dallas on Wednesday, the Pistons allowed a season high in points while getting pounded by Washington 122-108 in a roadh game on Friday night.

The Wizards shot 57.1 percent from the field while becoming the first Pistons opponent in eight games to reach 100 points. Washington's starting backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal combined for 54 points and 15 assists with just one turnover.

"We couldn't handle their guards at all," Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. "They were getting wherever they wanted on the floor and then making plays. Then the other guys shot the ball well, too. But those two guys just destroyed us."

Detroit was outscored 68-50 in the second and third quarters. The Pistons' only bright spots were guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who had 24 points, and reserve forward Jon Leuer, who contributed 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

"We didn't play defense," point guard Reggie Jackson said. "It's pretty frustrating. We let one slip away. All we can do is move past this one and get ready for tomorrow."

The Pacers are looking to salvage the finale of a three-game road swing. They lost to Miami 95-89 on Wednesday and New Orleans 102-95 on Thursday.

Indiana will not have two of its backcourt rotation players available. Monta Ellis is sidelined with a groin injury and Rodney Stuckey has a strained left hamstring.

"It puts a big dent in our rotation with Rodney being out and Monta being out," coach Nate McMillan told the Indianapolis Star. "Everybody has to be ready to play. That will push up Aaron Brooks a few more minutes and C.J. (Miles) will see some time at the wing position."

McMillan's club led 90-85 with under five minutes to go against the Pelicans, then fell apart as New Orleans reeled off 15 straight points. Pelicans All-Star big man Anthony Davis controlled the paint with 35 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks.

"We had some open looks that we didn't knock down," McMillan told the Star. "They made some plays down the stretch and Anthony Davis had a big block. On those missed shots, they ran out and we didn't rotate back in transition. They were able to get the lead on that."

Davis' big night offset a strong performance by Pacers center Myles Turner, who finished with 26 points and eight rebounds. Indiana's usual top scorer, forward Paul George, was limited to 18 points and committed five turnovers.

"I just think we went stagnant," forward Thaddeus Young said to the Star. "We didn't make shots and we had contested shots where we could have swung the ball a little more to get some movement."

George averaged 22.8 points in four games against the Pistons last season as Indiana won the season series 3-1. Jackson led Detroit in those games with averages of 19.8 points and 5.5 assists.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Lakers (10-18) at Cavaliers (18-6)

Date: December 17, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

CLEVELAND -- Cavs coach Tyronn Lue broke into the NBA and won championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. Now he concedes he is surprised the league's marquee franchise has struggled luring some of the top free agents the last couple of years.

The Lakers arrive at Quicken Loans Arena fresh off their first victory in December after beating the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday to end an eight-game losing skid. It has been a difficult month after a surprising 10-10 start under first-year coach Luke Walton.

Meanwhile stars such as LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Durant and Kevin Love have all bypassed the chance to sign with the Lakers in free agency the last two years.

"You would think that they would attract more free agents, but it depends who the free agents are," Lue said. "There's a lot of pressure when you put on that purple and gold. You have to win, and if one great player goes there and he can't carry a franchise, there's a lot of pressure on him. I don't think it's because of the franchise or organization I just think it's a lot of tradition that follows. For a guy to go there, go by himself and not be able to win, it's a lot of pressure."

Walton has done his best to keep the Lakers' spirits up despite a skid that unraveled what was a promising start. Walton thought the coaches and players began putting too much emphasis on wins and losses rather than growth and seeing improvement. Once he corrected that course Friday morning, the Lakers produced one of their better defensive efforts of the season in beating the Sixers.

Guard D'Angelo Russell is still working his way back from platelet-rich plasma therapy on his right knee. He has appeared in five games now since the procedure, although Walton still doesn't believe he's all the way back.

"He still didn't look fully healthy to me," Walton said Friday. "He looked great early, but later in the game he looked like he was laboring a little bit. I wouldn't call him 100 percent, but he looked good."

Walton is a former Cavs forward who is friendly with Lue because of the Lakers ties the two share. They also share a craps table every July during summer league in Las Vegas.

"We meet at craps table No. 6 every night at 9 o'clock," Lue said. "We meet there every night during summer league. Me, him and (Richard Jefferson). But R.J. is terrible, so we keep him away. He's not serious enough. Me and Luke are pretty serious about it."

Lue is also serious about winning and keeping the Cavs fresh for what should be a deep playoff run. He was sharply criticized for leaving LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving at home for what turned out to be a loss at Memphis on Wednesday on the second night of a home-and-home with the Grizzlies. But all three stars will be back on the floor against the Lakers. For Irving, it represents a full week off after he complained of tired legs last Saturday.

"Of course you don't want to upset the fans and let the fans down," Lue said. "You know they want to see LeBron and Kevin and Kyrie play. ... I feel sorry for the fans but my biggest thing is I have to protect our team and make sure our team is okay."

The Cavs learned late Friday they'd be without reserve center Chris "Birdman" Andersen for the rest of the season. Andersen, 38, tore the ACL in his right knee during practice Friday and will need season-ending surgery to repair it. He played sparingly this season, but his loss leaves the Cavs with just three healthy bigs in Love, Tristan Thompson and Channing Frye.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Hornets (14-12) at Hawks (12-13)

Date: December 17, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks hope to compound the misery currently being felt by the Charlotte Hornets.

Charlotte brings a four-game losing streak into Saturday's game against a Hawks team that has won three of its last four.

Atlanta (13-13) scored an impressive 125-121 road win in Toronto on Friday, just two weeks after losing to the Raptors by 44 points. Charlotte (14-13) was playing without leading scorer Kemba Walker and dropped a 96-88 decision at Boston on Friday.

Charlotte won the first meeting against Atlanta on Nov. 18 when it overcame a 10-point deficit to win 100-96 in Charlotte.

The Hornets will get Walker back on Saturday. The point guard missed Friday's game with an excused absence to take care of a personal matter. Walker is leading the team in scoring with 22.6 points per game and is considered a good candidate to make the All-Star team.

Atlanta guard Kent Bazemore returned Tuesday against Orlando but he was still struggling with the right knee soreness that kept him out for the previous two games. Bazemore scored five points against the Magic and scored seven points in 22 minutes against Toronto.

Atlanta's season has been puzzling for coach Mike Budenholzer, especially considering the team's 9-2 start.

"I don't know exactly how I would describe it, but there is some level of frustration," Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said. "There is some level of optimism. I do think we are doing some things better. We need to do more things better for more of the 48 minutes."

Charlotte has been up-and-down since winning eight of its first 11 games. The Hornets won three straight before embarking on their current road trip, where they've lost to Cleveland, Indiana, Washington and Boston.

Coach Steve Clifford has encouraged the Hornets to play more physically.

"If guys aren't willing to be more physical, we'll be an up-and-down team," he said. "We'll struggle to make the playoffs. If we want to play with the physicality we choose to at times, we have a chance to be a good team."

The Hornets got 22 points and 10 rebounds from guard Nicholas Batum against the Celtics, but had no answer for Boston's Isaiah Thomas, who poured in 26 points in his return to the court. The Hornets were outscored 27-19 in the fourth quarter.

Atlanta got a strong inside effort from Dwight Howard and superior point guard play from Dennis Schroder on Friday. Howard had 27 points and 15 rebounds and Schroder scored 24 points. Schroder is averaging 25.3 points over the last three games.

Howard scored his 16,000th career point on Friday and passed Elgin Baylor for 26th on the career rebound list with 11,465.

"We've just got to stay locked in," Howard said. "We've got to forget about (the Raptors win) and get ready to play again on Saturday."

Atlanta will honor legendary announcer Craig Sager on Saturday with a moment of silence. The long-time Atlanta resident died of leukemia on Thursday.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Rockets (19-7) at Timberwolves (7-18)

Date: December 17, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Timberwolves are trying to find any sense of traction this season and will have yet another chance to win back-to-back games for the first time when they play at home Saturday night.

Standing in Minnesota's way is just the team on the hottest streak in the NBA: the Houston Rockets.

The Timberwolves (7-18) host Houston on Saturday night after the Rockets (20-7) won their ninth game in a row on Friday, beating the New Orleans Pelicans 122-100 in Houston.

"We came in today and had a different swagger about us," Minnesota center Karl-Anthony Towns told the Minneapolis Star Tribune a day after the Timberwolves 99-94 comeback win in Chicago. "A different swagger that we have never had; an arrogance in a way that great teams have."

Minnesota recovered from a 21-point deficit against the Bulls, the largest comeback in the NBA this season. The Timberwolves felt good about themselves and also had three days off before the Rockets come to town.

But it's a Minnesota team that hasn't won two games in a row all season. The Timberwolves hope something changed this time.

"I think, in Chicago, that's the first time we played team basketball," forward Gorgui Dieng told the Star Tribune.

Minnesota can benefit from back-to-back practices as well, a rare occurrence rare in today's NBA. The young Timberwolves need the practice as much as anyone as they continue to learn the ways of new coach Tom Thibodeau.

"For us, practicing hard and practicing well is critical," Thibodeau told the Star Tribune. "It is not punishment, but it is what we need to do to build habits. This is all about building habits and building a foundation."

Tuesday's comeback was made possible because of defense. It was the first time in 10 games that Minnesota had held a team below 100 points. Chicago scored 56 total points in the final three quarters.

Stopping the Rockets is a more daunting task.

The Rockets entered Friday second in the league in scoring with 122.8 points per game. That was before Houston bombarded New Orleans.

Houston hit 24 3-pointers in Friday's win against the Pelicans. The total broke a mark the 2013 Rockets shared with the 2009 Orlando Magic. They shot 61 3-pointers in the win, breaking another record they had set earlier this season when they shot 50 in a game.

"It was one of those nights where it didn't feel like we put up 60 3s," said forward Ryan Anderson, who was 2 of 8 from 3. "They were in-motion shots, they were good shots."

Eric Gordon was 7 of 12 on 3-point shots in scoring 29 points. James Harden was 6 of 12 from beyond the arc on the way to his sixth triple-double of the season with 29 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds. Trevor Ariza added five 3s and scored 20 points.

"We can still be better," Gordon said. "I wouldn't doubt that before the season is over we'll break that record (for 3-pointers made) again.

"I think it'll happen again for sure. A lot of teams like to load up trying to not let us get layups and it forces us to shoot 3s. It's like, 'Why not?' I think we'll have that chance again."

Harden also passed Hakeem Olajuwon with his 15th triple-double for Houston, the most in team history.

The Rockets have played twice while the Timberwolves rested and practiced. Houston also put up 132 points in a win on Wednesday over Sacramento, which scored just 98 points in the game.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Preview: Knicks (14-12) at Nuggets (10-16)

Date: December 17, 2016 9:00 PM EDT

Carmelo Anthony returns to the roots of his NBA career on Saturday night. Whether he will be in uniform is uncertain.

Anthony's New York Knicks (14-12) wrap up their five-game road trip against the Denver Nuggets but the star forward's status is questionable going into the game. He was a late scratch in Thursday's 103-90 loss at Golden State due to a right shoulder injury.

Before the injury, Anthony had talked about sitting out games to rest, a practice that has gained popularity among NBA coaches in recent years. Earlier this week the reigning champs, the Cleveland Cavaliers, didn't bring stars LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love on a one-game road trip to Memphis.

"I think everyone needs a rest day, to be honest with you," Anthony told Newsday. "I think if you're an NBA player, professional athlete, you need a rest day. It's a matter of when you take it, how you take it. The decision is not just mine, it's a collective as a whole. Whatever is the best situation for that individual."

Derrick Rose (lower back injury) also missed the game against the Warriors. New York trailed by as many as 25 before making it a respectable score in the fourth quarter.

Nuggets fans hope Anthony suits up for his one trip to Pepsi Center, where he cut his professional teeth. He was the third overall pick in 2003 and helped Denver (10-16) reach the playoffs in each of his seven full seasons with the team and the Western Conference finals in 2009.

The Nuggets traded him to New York in February 2011 in a 10-player, three-team blockbuster deal. Only Anthony remains with the Knicks while Denver still has Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler on the roster from the trade.

Not only are they on the roster, they are, for the time being, starting together. Coach Michael Malone had been bringing Chandler off the bench when Gallinari is healthy, but after Denver's recent struggles he had them on the floor together from the opening tip.

Malone also put Nikola Jokic back at center to start and Gary Harris at shooting guard in his return to the lineup.

It worked out well. Gallinari scored 27 points and Wilson Chandler 17 as Denver scored 38 points in the first quarter against Portland on Thursday night and never trailed in beating the Trail Blazers by 12.

"Those guys responded," Malone said after the game.

The Nuggets snapped a three-game home losing streak with the victory and want to build on that with a game against the Knicks. New York is 2-2 on the road trip, but if Anthony and Rose do not play it will make it tougher to finish the Western Conference swing with a winning mark.

Anthony said he hurt his shoulder against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, and when he went through drills Thursday morning the pain was too much.

"When I was doing workouts and not being full strength, there was no way I could get out there (Thursday) night," Anthony told Newsday.

Rose missed two games last week with the back injury and aggravated it in Phoenix on Tuesday. Before the game against Golden State he sounded hopeful he could return Saturday.

"Just got to be smart about it," he told Newsday. "It's frustrating as hell, but just have to be smart about it. It's improving, but it's not where I want it to be, so I'm looking for hopefully playing in Denver."