Daily Sports Roundup: January 29
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Capitals take on the Panthers, the Cavaliers have a game in Indiana, and the Celtics look for a win over the Hawks.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The NBA’s busy slate for Friday has a dozen games on tap, including Boston at Atlanta in a battle of Eastern powers. The Celtics will be looking to rebound from a pair of losses to the Hawks earlier in the month, as they fell 93-85 in Atlanta on January 8 and 102-96 in Boston on January 11. Joe Johnson led the way for the Hawks with 36 points in that latter matchup, with Josh Smith and Marvin Williams each scoring 14 points. Rajon Rondo tossed in 26 points for Boston in the defeat.
Also on the NBA hardwood on Friday: the Lakers at Philadelphia, Denver at Oklahoma City, Washington at New Jersey, the Clippers at Minnesota, Miami at Detroit, Chicago at New Orleans, Portland at Houston, Memphis at San Antonio, Sacramento at Utah, Charlotte at Golden State, and Cleveland at Indiana. The Cavaliers last took on the Pacers on November 20 in Indiana, with Cleveland picking up a 105-95 road win. LeBron James had a game-high 40 points for the Cavs in that matchup, while Danny Granger had 19 points for the losing Pacers.
On the college basketball schedule for Friday the top matchup will take place at the Resch Center, with Wisconsin-Green Bay hosting Butler in a game between the top two teams in the Horizon League. The Bulldogs (16-4 SU, 8-12 ATS) had no trouble with Illinois-Chicago last time out, cruising to an 84-55 win; Gordon Hayward had 25 points for Butler in that contest. The Phoenix (15-7 SU, 7-7-2 ATS) beat Youngstown State 69-55 last game; Troy Cotton poured in 23 points.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
As well, the National Hockey League offers up six games on Friday, with Toronto at New Jersey, Boston at Buffalo, Nashville at Detroit, Anaheim at Tampa Bay, Colorado at Dallas, and Florida at Washington. The Panthers improved to 23-21-9 on the season with a 2-1 win over Montreal in their last game on Tuesday night; Florida goaltender Tomas Vokoun has given up just seven goals over his last seven outings. The Capitals, though, beat the Panthers of 5-4 in a shootout when the teams last met on January 13, and they’re 4-0 against Florida this year.
