**Cleveland at Chicago**



-- Cleveland (32-25 straight up, 28-26 against the spread) will be playing its second game in two nights after hosting Sacramento on Wednesday.




Lebron James is carrying the Cavs on his shoulders this year.(AP Images)
-- Mike Brown’s team has struggled with no days rest, going 5-10 SU and 4-10-1 ATS. The ‘under’ is 8-7.



-- The Cavaliers have been mired in a slump, going 0-4 both SU and ATS in their last five games.



-- Cleveland is 12-16 SU and 12-14 ATS on the road this year. The total has been steady at 14-14.



-- Lebron James has single handily dominated the Bulls this season, posting 37 and 32 points en route to two wins and covers in the first two meetings.



-- The Cavs catch a few days off before meeting tonight’s opponents, Chicago, again at home on Sunday.



-- Chicago (25-31 SU, 25-31 ATS) snapped a two-game skid Tuesday by dropping Minnesota 111-100 as a six-point home favorite. The combined 211 points jumped ‘over’ the closing total of 188 1/2.



-- The Bulls are averaging 102.5 points per game in their last six games, helping the ‘over’ go on a 5-1 run.



-- Scott Skiles’ troops are only 13-15 SU and 10-18 ATS at United Center, but have won and covered three of the last four games at home.



-- Chicago made the playoffs last season for the first time in six years, but is currently out of the postseason picture this year. The team trails Philadelphia by three games for the eighth and final seed in the Eastern Conference.



-- This will be the first of back-to-back tilts for the Bulls, with a road trip to New York scheduled for Friday.



-- Tip off for this game is set for 7:00 p.m. EST, with TNT providing national coverage.



**Dallas at San Antonio**



-- Normally I would say tonight’s battle between Dallas (45-11 SU, 28-26 ATS) and San Antonio (44-12 SU, 26-29 ATS) is a possible preview of the Western Conference Finals, but due to the seeding in the NBA, its not going to happen.



-- The Mavericks or Spurs will win the Southwest Division and at the same time earn the No. 1 seed in the West. However, second place gets the fourth seed and what looks like a battle between these titans in the Western Conference semifinals.



-- Dallas and San Antonio have split their two meetings this season at American Airlines Center, but the Mavs have covered four straight in this series, while the ‘under’ is 3-1 in the last four. This will be the first game played at AT&T Center.



-- The Mavericks enter this game with a six-game winning streak on the line. All of the victories were at home, watching the club go 3-3 ATS.

-- Next to Detroit (21-7), Dallas owns the second best record on the road at 19-7. The team is 12-12 ATS, while the ‘under’ has prevailed to 13-11.

-- Avery Johnson and company have been stellar when tabbed an underdog this year, going 4-1 SU and 5-0 ATS. The lone loss did come against the Spurs.

-- Following this tip, the Mavs return home for a battle on Friday versus Charlotte.

-- San Antonio opened up the second-half of the season with four consecutive wins, including a 121-93 triumph over New York on Monday.

-- The Spurs have dominated at AT&T Center this year, going 24-3 SU and 14-13 ATS.

-- Defense has always been the key for Greg Popovich’s team, holding opponents to 87.9 PPG, ranked first in the league.

-- The ‘under’ is 31-22 on the year, including 19-7 (73%) at home.

-- After this contest, the Spurs host Portland on Saturday.

-- TNT offers national viewing for this game at 9:30 p.m. EST