Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The East-leading Cavs take on the Wizards, the Blues take on the Red Wings, and the NIT stages its championship matchup.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
LeBron James and the Cavaliers will be looking to get past the Wizards on Thursday night when they meet in Washington in just one of three games on the NBA schedule. The Wizards and Cavs last met on January 4, when Washington pulled out an 80-77 upset win as a 9-point home ‘dog. James scored 30 points for Cleveland in that loss, while Antawn Jamison had 26 points for the Wizards.
It’s Milwaukee at Philadelphia and Utah at Denver in the other two games on the NBA hardwood on Thursday. The Sixers beat the Bucks 110-105 on January 7, with Milwaukee a 7.5-point home favorite in that contest. The Jazz and Nuggets met in Utah on March 6, with the Jazz winning 97-91 as a 9.5-point home favorite. Deron Williams picked up 25 points and 11 assists for Utah in that win.
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Taking a trip around the rink . . .
Eight games make up the National Hockey League’s schedule for Thursday night, including St. Louis at Detroit. The Red Wings will be looking to bounce back from a 4-3 loss to the Predators on Sunday, with Chris Osgood giving up four goals on 30 shots. The Wings and Blues last met up on March 14, with Detroit grabbing a 5-2 win; St. Louis last managed to beat Detroit in March 2008.
The other Western Conference power will also take to the ice on Thursday night, as San Jose will be in Edmonton to face the Oilers. Rounding out the schedule: Ottawa at Boston, the Rangers at Carolina, Montreal at the Islanders, Anaheim at Vancouver, Los Angeles at Phoenix, and Calgary at Dallas. The Flames fell 2-1 to the Sharks in their last game on Monday, with Jarome Iginla scoring their goal.
Rounding out the Roundup . . .
The NIT championship game will be played at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night, with Baylor taking on Penn State. The Bears won their semifinal matchup with San Diego State by a score of 76-62 on Tuesday night, with Curtis Jerrells scoring 25 points and LaceDarius Dunn adding 23 points. Penn State got past Notre Dame 67-59 on Tuesday , with Talor Battle pouring in a team-high 17 points and Andrew Jones contributing 16 points and 15 rebounds in the victory.
Finally, the PGA Tour tunes up for The Masters this week with the Shell Houston Open at Redstone GC in Humble, Texas. Phil Mickelson is pegged as the 5/1 Vegas favorite to get the win this week, with each of Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia, Camilo Villegas, and Geoff Ogilvy listed at 15/1 odds. Ogilvy and Chad Campbell both finished at 14-under in this tournament last year, two strokes back of winner Johnson Wagner. Mickelson finished 23rd at 6-under.