There’s no doubt Anthony Davis has an abundance of talent and can lead his team to victory on any given night. The problem has always been his durability, and the Dallas Mavericks hope the oft-injured power forward can remain on the basketball court and produce at a high rate, like he did in Monday’s 131-121 triumph over the Denver Nuggets.
Davis scored a game-high 32 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in his seventh game of the season and second in his return from a knee injury that sidelined him for 14 contests. The 32-year-old forward aims for a similar performance when the Mavericks (7-15) host the Miami Heat (14-7) at 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday at American Airlines Center.
The triumph at Denver earned the Mavericks a split on their four-game road trip and gave them back-to-back wins for the first time this season. Miami is looking to begin another winning streak as it defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 140-123 on Monday after having its six-game run halted by the Detroit Pistons two days earlier.
Eight other games are on Wednesday’s NBA schedule, while the NHL has five contests on its slate. One is a matchup between the red-hot Washington Capitals (16-9-2) and surprising San Jose Sharks (13-11-3) at 10 p.m. ET at the SAP Center. Washington is seeking its sixth overall victory as it continues its four-game road trip against San Jose, which already has posted 13 wins after recording 20 or fewer each of the last two seasons.
Meanwhile, there is a plethora of college basketball games on Wednesday, including a showdown between No. 6 Louisville (7-0) and No. 25 Arkansas (5-2) at 7:15 p.m. ET at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville. Louisville is playing its first true road game, while Arkansas is a perfect 5-0 at home this campaign.
The Heat are 5.5-point favorites against the Mavericks in the latest consensus NBA odds. Meanwhile, the Capitals are -155 favorites on the money line against the Sharks and Louisville is a 3.5-point favorite versus Arkansas.
Below is a snapshot of what to watch and bet for Wednesday, Dec. 3. All times Eastern
NBA best bets, where to watch
Heat at Mavericks
Time: 8:30 p.m. | Location: Dallas | TV: NBA TV | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks — Model: Under 240.5 (-109) | Expert: Cooper Flagg Over 6.5 rebounds (Mike Barner)
Both of the Heat’s last two games went Over the projected total for Wednesday’s matchup, but only two of the Mavericks’ past eight contests have done so. These teams met in Miami less than two weeks ago and combined for just 208 points, with the Heat posting a 106-102 victory. The SportsLine Projection Model doesn’t see the rematch being a high-scoring affair, as the Under hits in more than 61% of its simulations. SportsLine NBA expert Mike Barner (+426 on his last 54 NBA player prop picks) believes Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg will come up with another solid performance on the boards, as the 18-year-old forward has grabbed at least seven rebounds in each of his last six outings, including against Miami last Monday, when he finished with seven.
NHL best bets, where to watch
Mammoth at Ducks
Time: 10 p.m. | Location: Anaheim | TV: TNT | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine pick — Model: Ducks -109
The Mammoth won eight of their first 10 games this season but have floundered since, losing 13 of 17 (4-10-3) and each of their last four. Anaheim has alternated wins and losses over its last seven contests (4-3-0) but are an impressive 9-3-0 at home this campaign and currently sit atop the Pacific Division. The Ducks edged the Mammoth 3-2 in overtime when the clubs met in Anaheim on Nov. 17 as Beckett Sennecke set up defenseman Olen Zellweger’s winning goal to begin his current eight-game point streak, which matches the franchise record for a rookie set in 1994-95 by Hall-of-Famer Paul Kariya. The SportsLine Projection Model believes the Ducks will prevail again at the Honda Center, as its projections have them winning 58% of the time.
Capitals at Sharks
Time: 10 p.m. | Location: San Jose | TV: ESPN+ | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks — Model: Sharks +1.5 (-190) | Expert: Sharks ML (Bruce Marshall)
The Capitals are on a tear, as they enter with a five-game winning streak and eight victories in their last nine contests. They have allowed a total of eight goals during their current run. The Sharks have rebounded from an 0-3-2 start at home this season, going 9-1-1 in their last 11 at the SAP Center. To show how impressive that is, San Jose recorded only 12 wins in its own building last campaign, 11 in 2023-24 and just eight the previous season. SportsLine expert Bruce Marshall (+896 on his last 20 NHL picks) likes the Sharks to continue their winning ways on home ice, especially since Washington is back in action a night after posting a 3-1 victory at Los Angeles. The SportsLine Projection Model feels San Jose, which is coming off a 6-3 home triumph over Utah on Monday, will at least keep it close against the Capitals as the Sharks cover the spread in 75% of its simulations.
CBB best bets, where to watch
Louisville at Arkansas
Time: 7:15 p.m. | Location: Fayetteville, Ark. | TV: ESPN | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine pick — Model: Under 165.5 (-109)
Both the Cardinals and Razorbacks have seen four of their seven games finish Under the projected total for their clash, and each of Louisville’s last three have had fewer than 152 combined points scored. The Cardinals are averaging 96.7 points this season and the Razorbacks are putting up 88.1 per game, but Louisville is allowing an average of 63.0 and Arkansas is giving up 71.6. All signs point to the Under, which the SportsLine Projection Model’s simulations have hitting more than 71% of the time.
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