Our basketball predictions: Utah to keep up with the Kings, Mavericks to beat the Hawks, and the Clippers to demolish the Wizards.
Kings @ Jazz: Utah hasn’t done a good job keeping up with the Kings. With the Lakers and Hornets still in contention, a win here against the Kings could be their biggest challenge of the year. The last time these two faced the Kings it was the entire fourth quarter without a field goal. With Ron Artest more used to the Kings, an incident like that will never happen again. Predicted score: Utah wins 88-86
Mavericks @ Hawks: Dallas may have the best road record in the NBA, but that doesn’t mean they easily win their games. Lately, the Mavs have had trouble eliminating weak teams like the Hawks. Dallas is strong when it makes big strides in the first half and needs to do it here for an easy win. Predicted score: Dallas win 103-99
Wizards @ Clippers: Both teams are pretty similar and most nights they should play each other well. But the Wizards are on a road trip down the West Coast and play at 10:30 ET. Gilbert Arenas will have to wear them while trying to bring his PPG stat to 30 per night. Elton Brand could have another great game here against a much smaller Antawn Jamison. Predicted score: LA Clippers win 102-87
