The Hawks get a visit from the Mavericks, the Magic meet the Hornets, and the Olympic hockey tourney hits the semifinals.

Tipping off on the hardwood . . .

The NBA offers up a dozen games on Friday, including Dallas at Atlanta. The Mavericks (37-21 SU, 24-34 ATS) have won five straight games, knocking off the Lakers 101-96 in their last outing on Wednesday. Dirk Nowitzki led the way with 31 points for Dallas in that contest, while Jason Terry tossed in 30 points off the bench. The Hawks (36-20 SU, 34-22 ATS) got past Minnesota 98-92 in their Wednesday contest, as Josh Smith picked up 27 points and 10 rebounds. Joe Johnson was good for 21 points that day, while Al Horford grabbed 13 rebounds.

Also on the NBA hardwood on Friday: Cleveland at Toronto, New York at Washington, Minnesota at Oklahoma City, Charlotte at Memphis, Portland at Chicago, San Antonio at Houston, Detroit at Denver, the Clippers at Phoenix, Utah at Sacramento, Philadelphia at the Lakers, and Orlando at New Orleans. The Magic (39-19 SU, 29-26-3 ATS) took care of Houston by a score of 110-92 on Wednesday, with Dwight Howard pouring in 30 points. The Hornets (30-28 SU, 29-29 ATS) will be looking to bounce back from a 115-92 loss to Milwaukee.

As well, there is one ranked team in action around college basketball on Friday, as No. 15 Butler visits Valparaiso. The Bulldogs (25-4 SU, 12-17 ATS) are riding a 17-game winning streak into their Friday matchup, and they got past Siena 70-53 in their last contest. Shelvin Mack tossed in 23 points for Butler on that day. The Crusaders (15-15 SU, 15-9-2 ATS) fell 87-70 to Bowling Green last time out, with Brandon McPherson scoring 16 points in the loss. Butler and Valparaiso met back on December 5, with the ranked Bulldogs cruising to an easy 84-67 victory.

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

Finally, the Olympic men's hockey tournament stages its semifinals on Friday, with the United States vs. Finland at 3:00pm ET, and Canada vs. Slovakia at 9:30pm ET. The Americans survived their quarterfinal matchup with Switzerland on Wednesday, pulling out a 2-0 victory, while the Finns blanked the Czech Republic by that same score. Slovakia upset Sweden in a tight 4-3 win in their quarterfinal game on Wednesday, while Canada blasted Russia 7-3. The winners of Friday's semifinal contests will move on to the Gold Medal Game on Sunday.

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