Daily Picks 01/11: Pelican'ts Not Pelicans

In Friday’s NBA action, LeBron James finished with 35 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists for the Los Angeles Lakers in a 129-114 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Kyle Kuzma added 26 points in the win.

For the Los Angeles Clippers, Kawhi Leonard had 36 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals in a 109-100 win over the Golden State Warriors.

Here are Today’s NBA Picks:

BET OF THE DAY

New Orleans Pelicans @ Boston Celtics

• The Boston Celtics have a 57-41-3 against the spread record in night games at TD Garden since the 2017-18 NBA season. (Stat courtesy of Statschecker)

The Boston Celtics are on an uncharacteristic three-game losing streak, suffering defeats to the Washington Wizards, San Antonio Spurs and most recently the Philadelphia 76ers.

Kemba Walker finished with 26 points, three assists and two rebounds, and Jayson Tatum had 15 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Celtics in a 109-98 loss to Philadelphia.

The Celtics are too good to let this poor run continue, so expect Boston to bounce back in style against the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday.

Celtics minus the 8.5 points is the pick here.

2u – Celtics (-8.5) @ -110

Philadelphia 76ers @ Dallas Mavericks

• Since the 2014-15 NBA season, the Philadelphia 76ers have a 45-31-1 against the spread record in games played during January. (Stat courtesy of Statschecker)

The Philadelphia 76ers will look to win a third straight game on Saturday night against the visiting Dallas Mavericks. In their last victory over the Boston Celtics, Josh Richardson led the way with 29 points and seven assists, and Ben Simmons had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Sixers in a 109-98 win.

This is a tough one to pick, but I actually like the Sixers plus the 2 points in this matchup on the road.

1u – 76ers (+2) @ -110

Milwaukee Bucks @ Portland Trail Blazers

• Since the 2010-11 NBA season, the Portland Trail Blazers have a 6-12-1 against the spread record in night games against the Milwaukee Bucks. (Stat courtesy of Statschecker)

Not only are the Milwaukee Bucks a fantastic home team, but they have an incredible 16-4 record on the road, winning at Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings last time out.

In their matchup against the Kings, Khris Middleton led the way with 27 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Bucks in a 127-106 win. Eric Bledsoe added 24 points, five assists and four boards, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the reigning NBA MVP, had 13 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

I expect Antetokounmpo to rebound in a big way statistically against the Portland Trail Blazers. Take the Bucks minus the 4.5 points on the road.

1u – Bucks (-4.5) @ -110