Sunday's Trends and Indexes - 1/13 (NBA, NCAAB, Misc.)

[Udog]

NHL's 99-day schedule opens with 13 games Jan. 19

The NHL lockout is now officially over and the sprint that will be the 2012-13 NHL regular season starts Jan. 19 with 13 games on the slate.

The season will end 98 days later with a final-day slate of 13 games on April 27.

Each team will play 48 games entirely against clubs from its own conference and 18 contests against divisional foes.

The defending champion Los Angeles Kings will raise their championship banner at 3 p.m. ET against the Chicago Blackhawks on opening day and the Pittsburgh Penguins will renew acquaintances with the Philadelphia Flyers in another highly-anticipated matinee.

Odds have not yet been released for the Jan. 19 games.

[Udog]

NBA

Sunday, January 13

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NBA game of the day: Warriors at Nuggets
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Golden State Warriors at Denver Nuggets (-6, 209)

The Golden State Warriors and the Denver Nuggets have already had three battles this season, with one going to two overtimes and another ending in a one-point Warriors' victory following four video reviews in the final 3.4 seconds. The two Western Conference contenders will square off in the final regular-season meeting when Golden State visits Denver on Sunday. The Nuggets are riding a four-game overall winning streak and have taken two of the first three meetings.

The teams met three times over a 19-day span in November, each time taking the game down to the final moments. Danilo Gallinari’s dunk with 2.1 seconds left in the first overtime forced a second extra period and led to a Nuggets' road victory in the Nov. 10 contest. Ty Lawson held Stephen Curry to a season-low six points in another Denver win 13 days later but Curry handed out 10 assists and David Lee went for 31 points as the Warriors survived at the Nuggets on Nov. 29, 106-105.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, Comcast SportsNet Bay Area (Golden State), Altitude (Denver)

ABOUT THE WARRIORS (23-12): Golden State has been trying to prove it belongs among the Western Conference elite all season and has knocked off several contenders on the way up. But this month has brought the toughest stretch of schedule yet to the young Warriors, and a two-game slip could have been the start of a long decline. Instead, Golden State bounced back from losses to the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies by taking out the Portland Trail Blazers 103-97 on Friday. Curry collected 22 points and 12 assists, and hit the clinching free throws in the final seconds to secure the win. Lee added 24 points and 10 rebounds as the Warriors leaned on their stars to hold off a late charge. The poise exhibited by Curry and Lee along with the veteran bench presence of Carl Landry and Jarrett Jack is what the team is hoping will get it through a stretch that includes Miami , San Antonio, Oklahoma City, the Clippers and the Chicago Bulls in five of the next six games following Denver.

ABOUT THE NUGGETS (22-16): After playing more road games than any other team during the first two months, Denver is finally enjoying a long stretch of home games. The Nuggets have taken four of five at home since the beginning of the January and will end up playing 12 of their 15 games this month at the Pepsi Center, giving them a chance to move up past teams like Golden State in the standings. Denver had a string of three straight games scoring at least 108 points come to an end on Friday but still managed to secure a 98-91 victory over Cleveland. The Nuggets outscored the Cavaliers 53-35 in the second half, led by 23 points from Gallinari and a career-high 21 from Kosta Koufos. Gallinari has averaged 21 points during the four-game winning streak and has chipped in 6.5 rebounds.

TRENDS:

* Over is 6-1 in Nuggets’ last seven vs. NBA Pacific foes.
* Nuggets are 5-0 ATS in their last five home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
* Warriors are 4-1 ATS in their last five Sunday games.
* Over is 6-1 in Warriors’ last seven after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.

BUZZER BEATERS:

1. Golden State won once at Denver last season, 109-101 on Feb. 9. Curry went for 36 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to lead the way.

2. Warriors C Andris Biedrins (groin) sat out Friday and is questionable for Sunday.

3. Nuggets F Wilson Chandler (hip) has been out since November but could make his return on Sunday.


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[Udog]

Niners open as 3-point faves in NFC Champ. Game

The San Francisco 49ers opened as 3-point favorites when they visit the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship Game next Sunday.

Mike Perry, oddsmaker for Sportsbook.ag, opened the floodgates at San Francisco -3 with the total set at 47.5 after Atlanta’s dramatic 30-28 victory over the Seahawks. Perry was contemplating a line of Niners -1 after the Falcons took a 20-0 lead at the half, but wasn't impressed with Atlanta's near collapse in the second half and pumped the line up to Niners -3.