Atlanta at Miami

Young Atlanta is playing hard, off a 124-123 victory over Charlotte as a +6.5 dog. They have terrific building blocks with rookie point guard Trae Young (15.7 points per game), tied for sixth in the NBA in assists at 7.7 per contest, and 6-10 John Collins. They topped this Miami team, 123-118, three weeks ago as an underdog. Atlanta is #22 in the league in scoring, and 26-11 UNDER the total against teams winning percentages below .400, plus 23-7-1 UNDER when following a victory. They are a dog again to a struggling Miami squad, 3-7 straight-up at home and dropping seven of its past nine contests overall. Miami is #20 in the NBA in points scored, #28 in free throw shooting. The Heat are 3-9-1 ATS when following a spread-cover and when these rivals clash the underdog is 9-3-1 ATS. In addition, the UNDER is 38-18 when they meet, including 22-6 UNDER in this building, so back the big dog in a defensive duel. Play Atlanta and the UNDER.