Top NBA Betting Picks Tonight: Clippers-Raptors, Wolves-Rockets, Wizards-Kings

It wasn’t all that long ago that the Los Angeles Clippers were the most underachieving team in the league. Now the Clippers have flames encircling them as one of the hottest teams in the league.

Los Angeles has won 11 of its last 13 games as it begins a three-game road trip against the Toronto Raptors. It could be quite the test, as the Raptors have won seven of 10 while enjoying a solid first half of the season.

The Minnesota Timberwolves and Houston Rockets both feel they can reach the Western Conference finals, so their matchup is one to watch. DeMar DeRozan of the Sacramento Kings is sailing up the all-time scoring list as his club hosts the Washington Wizards.

Los Angeles Clippers at Toronto Raptors

Los Angeles was 6-21 after a 21-point road loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Dec. 18, and things were looking really bleak even in the play-in era. But Kawhi Leonard became healthy, and he has returned to being one of the top players in the league, while James Harden continues to mix well with him to form a potent duo.

Harden and Leonard each have 55-point scoring games this season — which is now the franchise record — but Leonard is leading the way and has topped 30 points in seven of his last 13 appearances. Leonard is playing through a sore ankle as he faces the Raptors, the team he led to the 2019 NBA title.

Toronto is enjoying a solid season, and this game is mighty important because a tough five-game road trip against Western Conference teams follows. Scottie Barnes is bringing it on both sides of the ball, and he’ll be looking to slow the Los Angeles surge.

Clippers -1.5 points to cover spread, -115 (DraftKings)

Minnesota Timberwolves at Houston Rockets

The Rockets have lost five of their past seven games and were routed 111-91 by the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday. Kevin Durant scored 19 points as his streak of 15 straight 20-point outings ended. He shot just 7 of 23 after making more than 50% in 10 of the previous 11 games.

Anthony Edwards (foot) will miss his second straight game for the Timberwolves, who pounded the host Milwaukee Bucks 139-106 without him on Tuesday. Julius Randle had 29 points to score 20 or more for the fifth time in the last seven games. Randle will surely be hoisting a good number of shots against Houston.

Minnesota has won six of its past seven games as it enters the first of three matchups with the Rockets this season. Houston lost twice to Portland and once to Sacramento during the recent slide, but Durant should bounce back strong after all the clanks he put up against OKC.

Kevin Durant to score 26 or more points, +119 (DraftKings)

Washington Wizards at Sacramento Kings

Sacramento has won a season-best three straight games — all by double digits over the Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, and New York Knicks — and the contest with Washington is the fourth of a seven-game homestand. Hard to believe Sacramento lost 30 of 38 games before this run, but the club now has momentum and much-needed confidence.

DeRozan scored 27 points in Wednesday’s 112-101 win over the New York Knicks as he vaulted past Kevin Garnett into 22nd place on the all-time scoring list with 26,077 points. Though 36, it’s almost time to wonder if DeRozan will someday pass 30,000 career points. Only eight players have done that, and Harden is less than 1,400 points away.

The Wizards have dropped four straight games by an average of 18.8 points while they wait for recently acquired Trae Young to get healthy. Washington has allowed an average of 122.5 points during the four-game slide.

Kings -7.5 points to cover spread, -105 (DraftKings)