NBA Friday Night Preview

After taking New Year’s Day off the NBA returns to the court on Friday night with two top-notch matchups on the NBA betting schedule, as New Orleans takes on Portland and Miami and Orlando renew their rivalry.

The Hornets continue to hold a slight edge over San Antonio and Houston in the Southwest Division after defeating Washington 97-85 on Tuesday. New Orleans was a 14.5-point favorite in the game and has only covered the spread on the NBA odds once in their last six games. Chris Paul recorded his third triple-double of the season in the win with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 16 assists. Rasual Butler also had a solid game for the Hornets with a season-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting.

The Trail Blazers were a surprise winner on Tuesday, as they upset Boston 91-86 as a 6.5-point home underdog without leading scorer Brandon Roy in the lineup. Roy missed the game with a pulled hamstring and will likely be questionable again Friday night. With Roy sidelined Steve Blake stepped up to score 21 points, while LaMarcus Aldridge chipped in with 20 points and seven rebounds.

The Hornets and Blazers clashed twice in November with the home team winning each game. In their first matchup the Hornets stung the Blazers 87-82 as a 7-point home favorite. David West led New Orleans with 18 points, while James Posey hit two key three-pointers in the fourth quarter and ended up with 14 points. Roy led Portland was 21 points in the loss. In the rematch two weeks later Portland thrashed New Orleans 101-86 as a 4.5-point home favorite. Roy dropped 25 points and 10 assists on the Hornets, while Paul was held to 16 points and only six assists.

The Heat and Magic meet up for the first time this season on Friday with Orlando hoping to continue their recent dominance over Miami. Orlando was 4-0 against Miami last season and they’ve won nine straight against them dating back to 2006.

The Magic cruised past Chicago on Wednesday afternoon in a 113-94 win as a 5.5-point road favorite. Rashard Lewis led Orlando with 21 points and seven boards, while Hedo Turkoglu chipped in with 18 points and nine rebounds. Dwight Howard had his usual double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds, as Orlando outrebounded Chicago 48-38.

The Heat are coming off a 104-95 upset win over Cleveland as a 5.5-point underdog on Tuesday. The win came two days after the Heat lost 93-86 in Cleveland to snap their four-game winning streak. In Tuesday’s victory Dwyane Wade delivered 21 points and 12 assists, while Mario Chalmers added 21 points and eight assists