NBA Betting Action – Miami Heat at San Antonio Spurs

Miami Heat at San Antonio Spurs

Thursday, December 31st – 7:05 PM ET
Basketball Betting Spread: 

The Week That Was: Heat 

The Heat’s third game of the past week came Wednesday night at New Orleans, before this article was written, but in the week’s first two games, it can safely be said that Miami stabilized its season. 

Coach Erik Spoelstra’s team had split its past six games, and the Heat were in search of high-quality consistency as they entered the final days of December. They found that magic ingredient in two wins that acquired two distinctly different forms. On Christmas Day, Miami Heat went to New York and knocked off the Knicks in a closely-contested 93-87 battle. After New York made a run to get within three points (83-80) with just over a minute remaining, Miami center Jermaine O’Neal produced an offensive rebound and a 15-foot jumper to seal the game with 51 seconds left. 

On Dec. 27, Miami returned home to whack the Indiana Pacers in a game that had far less drama than the Christmas duel against the Knicks. The Heat smoked Indiana, 114-80, by bolting to a 66-44 halftime lead and then – for good measure – outscoring the Pacers 32-16 in the third stanza. By forcing 20 turnovers and committing only seven, Miami ran away from an Eastern Conference doormat.  

The Week That Was: Spurs 

It was a solid, workmanlike and entirely successful week for coach Gregg Popovich’s club, which gathered its lunch pail and polished off three mediocre opponents, just as it should. 

San Antonio Spurs began its winning ways over the past seven days with a 112-97 win at Milwaukee on Dec. 26. The Spurs’ reserves gunned down the Bucks by hitting more than 75 percent (22 of 29) of their shots and compiling 51 points in the process.

On Dec. 27, the veteran-laded Spurs impressively overcame the rigors of a back-to-back set to turn back the New York Knicks, 95-88. With the outcome hanging in the balance, the dynamic backcourt of France’s Tony Parker and Argentina’s Manu Ginobili took over. With the score tied at 84-apiece, the international duo combined to score San Antonio’s final 11 points and lift the visitors to a seven-point triumph. 

On Dec. 29, the Spurs returned home and whipped the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves, 117-99. Six Spurs scored in double figures, but an even more positive aspect of the win was the fact that neither Duncan nor Parker played over 30 minutes. The Spurs notched a win and saved the legs of their superstars, a terrific combination.

Outlook & Pick 

The Heat will be dealing with the second end of a back-to-back, while the Spurs, as mentioned above, were able to rest their prime players in a relatively easy win over Minnesota on Tuesday. San Antonio is better than Miami as long as the Spurs are healthy and reasonably fresh. Guess whose rested and revived heading into this contest? The Heat are in big trouble. 

Pick: Spurs