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Celtics return home to face Heat

Basketball Betting Lines

02/03/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics are back home for three games starting with Wednesday's contest versus the Miami Heat at TD Garden.

The Atlantic Division-leading Celtics have lost four of their last six games in Beantown and will also play host to the Nets and Magic. They are 13-8 at home this season and put the brakes on a three-game losing streak with a 99-88 victory at Washington on Monday, as Kevin Garnett posted 19 points and six rebounds to lead the way.

"I thought tonight defense was a priority," Garnett said. "I really felt like for the first time in a long time that we put that priority."

Garnett passes Larry Bird for 24th on the NBA's all-time scoring list, while Rajon Rondo recorded his 21st double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 assists for the Celtics, who outscored the Wizards by a 25-10 margin in the final stanza to win for just the third time in their previous nine contests. Ray Allen finished with 17 points and five rebounds.

All-Star forward Paul Pierce did not play in the fourth quarter because of an injured left foot and finished with 12 points and eight boards. Pierce is listed as questionable for Wednesday's game.

Miami has dropped two in a row and four of its last five games, including Monday's 97-81 loss versus the Milwaukee Bucks in the finale of a home-and- home series from south Florida.

All-Star Dwyane Wade finished with 23 points on 7-of-19 shooting, while Michael Beasley returned from a two-game absence due to a hyperextended right knee to post 16 points in the loss. Beasley has scored 20-plus points in six of his last 13 games.

"We're just not making shots," Wade said. "We're getting good ones, we're just not making them. Defensively, our rotations are not as crisp."

Udonis Haslem chipped in 12 points and 10 boards for the Heat, who shot 36.4 percent for the game and played without center Jermaine O'Neal because of back spasms. O'Neal is questionable against the Celtics.

The Heat will commence a three-game road trip Wednesday against Boston, Cleveland and Chicago, and are 11-12 away from this season. Miami will play eight of its next nine games on the road.

Boston is aiming for its first season sweep of Miami since winning all four matchups during the 2007-08 campaign. It has won the first two installments of this year's series, including a 112-106 overtime victory in south Florida early last month. Boston has won four straight and 10 of the last 11 meetings with the Heat, who are winless in four straight trips to Beantown.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.