ATLANTA (AP) β The Atlanta Hawks are riding an NBA-best five-game winning streak heading into their post-Christmas home game tonight against Milwaukee. And they’ve done it the hard way against some of the top teams in the league. The wins have come against Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Dallas and the Clippers. Only the wins over the Bulls and Clippers came at home.
MEMPHIS (AP) β First place in the Southwest Division will be at stake when Memphis hosts the Houston Rockets tonight. The suddenly slumping Grizzlies have seen their lead shrink to a half game over the Rockets after dropping their last three games. Houston’s James Harden heads into the action with a league-leading 27 point average.
ORLANDO (AP) β LeBron James and the Cavaliers continues their holiday Florida swing by visiting Orlando tonight. Cleveland is coming off a loss at Miami yesterday and is still trying to figure out a long-term fix after the season-ending Achilles tendon injury to center Anderson Varejao (VAR’-eh-zhoh) earlier this week.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) β Central Florida will be aiming for a 10-win season for the fourth time in five years when it takes the field against North Carolina State in the Bitcoin Bowl tonight. The 9-3 Knights have rebounded nicely following an 0-2 start to the season with the help of a defense that is ranked in the top 10 nationally in a number of categories, including fewest yards allowed per game.
DETROIT (AP) β The inaugural Quick Lane Bowl kicks off in Detroit today, with 7-5 Rutgers taking on 6-6 North Carolina. The game is being run by the Detroit Lions, who join the Houston Texans as the only NFL teams to stage bowl games.
