Washington Wizards at New Orleans Hornets, New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA
Tuesday, February 1, 2011, 8:00 pm Eastern, TV: CST, FSOK
Opening Line: Hornets -10
Current Line: Hornets -9
Opening Total: 188.5
Current Total: 188.5
Money Line: Hornets -500 / Wizards +400
The Washington Wizards (13-34) wrap up a tough four-game road trip in New Orleans on Tuesday, visiting a Hornets team that has dropped two in a row away from home following a 10-game winning streak. The Wizards have lost five straight games overall and stayed winless away on the road at 0-24 after falling 102-92 at Dallas on Monday. Meanwhile, the Hornets (31-18) have won five straight home games but will be without leading rebounder Emeka Okafor due to a strained oblique muscle.
Okafor had been injury-plagued early in his career with Charlotte after being selected second overall behind Orlando’s Dwight Howard in the 2004 NBA draft. But this will be the first time he has missed action in 304 games, as he played all 82 games in each of the previous three seasons. He has been reborn since joining New Orleans (-9) and will be missed inside.
Washington hopes center Andray Blatche will be able to take advantage of Okafor’s absence after a brutal shooting game against the Mavericks. Blatche made only 4 of 17 shots from the field but still finished with 16 points and a team-high 13 rebounds in the loss.
Nick Young and Rashard Lewis led the Wizards with 18 points apiece while John Wall added 17 points and 10 assists. They led by as many as 12 points in the second quarter before Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle ripped his players during a timeout, and they responded by going on a 10-4 run in the last 2:39 before halftime to take a 50-49 lead.
Wall will face Hornets All-Star point guard Chris Paul for the second time this season after the two met on January 1 in Washington. Paul got the best of the rookie in a 92-81 victory, scoring 13 points and dishing out a game-high 11 assists to go along with a season-high seven steals. Wall turned the ball over eight times in the first matchup and finished with 12 points and 10 assists.
New Orleans is 3-1 straight-up and against the spread in the last four meetings with the Wizards, who had covered the previous four meetings before that. Washington will be playing its fourth game in five nights but managed to keep the total UNDER against the Dallas for the first time in the past five games. The Hornets are 3-5 ATS in their last eight games overall despite going 6-2 SU during that stretch. The OVER has cashed in their past three games overall.
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