Best sports picks today: NBA, college basketball, NHL predictions for January 27

Chris TPL

25 Jan 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; La Clippers guard James Harden (1) reacts against the Milwaukee Bucks during the second half at the Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images25 Jan 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; La Clippers guard James Harden (1) reacts against the Milwaukee Bucks during the second half at the Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Western Conference race will be a tight battle throughout the NBA season with 12 teams worthy of play after the regular season. The coveted spots in the top six are what the Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns have their eyes on as they aim to bypass the play-in round.

The Clippers are currently sixth, and the Suns are eighth when the two teams battle in Phoenix on Monday night. The Suns beat the Clippers twice in October, and another win would give Phoenix the tiebreaker edge.

Connor McDavid is scheduled to be back on the ice for the Edmonton Oilers after serving a three-game suspension for a cross-check. Hopefully, McDavid will decide to just use that stick for clobber pucks this time around.

Iowa State-Arizona isn’t usually a January showdown, but it is now with both teams in the Big 12. We’ll be looking at that game as well as the NBA game mentioned above and the Oilers game against the Seattle Kraken.

Los Angeles Clippers at Phoenix Suns

Phoenix has won seven of its last nine games, and Los Angeles has wins in six of its last eight contests. It helps that Kawhi Leonard’s knee has calmed down and his availability has made the Clippers extra potent.

James Harden (40 points, nine assists) and Norman Powell (33) were the mainstays of Los Angeles’ 127-117 home victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday. Leonard (18 points) played just 24 minutes and will again be limited on Monday.

Kevin Durant has 20 or more points in 21 straight appearances, and that includes a 29-point effort in Saturday’s 119-109 home victory over the Washington Wizards. The 36-year-old continues to play as a 26 in his 17th NBA campaign.

Demoted Big Man Jusuf Nurkic hasn’t played since Jan. 7, and he ripped coach Mike Budenholzer on Saturday. Bad news for Nurk-Nick Richards, the guy they acquired to replace him, had 20 points and a career-best 19 boards against the Wizards.

Clippers -1, -110 (DraftKings)

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Iowa State Cyclones at Arizona Wildcats

The two squads are tied for second place in the Big 12 when they meet in Tucson. The Wildcats are an amazing 9-1 at home while Iowa State is 4-1 in true road games.

Arizona has won nine of its last ten games, with six of those victories coming by double digits. Just when it looked like Caleb Love had broken out of his funk with a 27-point outing against Oklahoma State, his stroke was lacking again by going 3 of 14 for 10 points in Saturday’s 78-63 win over hapless Colorado.

The Cyclones have won back-to-back road trips since losing at West Virginia, their lone setback in the last 15 games. Curtis Jones, who averaged 2.5 points as a reserve for Buffalo three seasons ago, had a career-best 33 points in Saturday’s 76-61 road win over Arizona State and is averaging 18.6 points.

This is a statement road game for Iowa State. But it feels like Arizona can fend off the Cyclones.

Arizona +1, -118 (DraftKings)

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Seattle Kraken at Edmonton Oilers

It certainly made sense that McDavid was frustrated at being held down on the ice by Vancouver’s Conor Garland as time ticked down late in a Jan. 18 loss to the Canucks. But the aggressive form of retaliation where he crosses the wreath on the head deserved the hanging.

Either way, McDavid (20 goals, 45 assists) should have fresh legs against the Kraken, so it won’t be a surprise if he has a multi-point game. The Oilers went 2-1 without McDavid and have won 10 of their last 13 games despite scoring more than four goals just twice during the span.

Seattle won three of four games on a homestand and will take a trip to Edmonton before returning home for another five games in a row. The Kraken scored the final three goals of the game in a 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.

Leading scorer Jared McCain (38 points) had two assists against Pittsburgh and has five points (one goal, four assists) in the past three games. But can Seattle slow McDavid?

Connor McDavid to score, +150 (DraftKings)

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