Raptors visit surging Magic as favourites on NBA betting odds

Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard. (Frank Gunn/CP)

The Toronto Raptors will be looking to extend a four-game winning streak against Orlando when they visit the Magic on Tuesday as 6-point betting favourites on the NBA odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

Toronto continued a four-game road trip with a decisive 122-83 win in Chicago on Saturday, ending a three-game straight-up slide and maintaining the team’s narrow lead atop the Eastern Conference standings going into Tuesday night’s Raptors vs. Magic betting matchup at Amway Center.

The Raptors struggled last week after opening the campaign with a franchise-record 12-1 straight-up run that vaulted them to the top of the NBA standings and to +850 second favourites on the NBA championship odds. The team came up short straight-up and against the spread in home dates with New Orleans and Detroit before opening their current East Coast swing with a 126-113 loss to the Atlantic Division rival Boston Celtics as two-point underdogs.

Toronto quickly returned to form against the Bulls with its most lopsided victory of the season as 9.5-point road chalk, and owns a league-leading 6-2 straight-up record on the road. But the Raptors have produced mixed results for bettors in dates away from Scotiabank Arena, going 1-2 against the spread in their past three and a middling 4-4 against the spread on the season.

Against-the-spread wins have also been rare of late when Toronto plays the Magic. The Raptors have covered in just four of their last 13 meetings with Orlando, but have dominated on the scoresheet, going 18-3 straight-up in 21 dates since November 2012 including a 9-2 straight-up mark at Amway Center.

However, the Raptors will encounter a Magic squad that will hit the floor on Monday amid their most productive stretch since Dec. 2015. Winners of just 25 games last season, the Magic opened their schedule on a 2-6 straight-up run but have quickly found their groove during a 7-2 straight-up run that has vaulted them to the top of the Southeast Division standings.

Orlando’s current surge has been fuelled by a four-game straight-up win streak on home hardwood, capped by decisive weekend victories over the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks in which the Magic averaged 130.5 points per game. Orlando has also paid out regularly, going 5-1 against the spread in its past six, and posting outright wins as a betting underdog on seven occasions this season.

Following Tuesday’s contest the Raptors aim for a fifth straight win over the Hawks as they close out their road trip in Atlanta on Wednesday, before returning home for weekend dates with the Washington Wizards and Miami Heat.

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