Tip-off: Tuesday, 7:35 p.m. ET
Line: Toronto -2.5, Total: 202

The Raptors continue to play above expectations in the Eastern Conference and will look for another victory when they square off with the suddenly red-hot Hawks on Tuesday night.

Toronto is playing very well of late with SU wins in eight of its past 11 contests (7-4 ATS), which includes solid wins against Golden State, Minnesota and Memphis. The Raptors were unable to defeat the Suns as four-point favorites on Sunday though, losing 121-113 at home despite shooting 49.4% from the field and forcing 21 turnovers. The Hawks have had a somewhat rough season with injuries and inconsistent play, but have pulled off four straight wins SU (1-2-1 ATS) coming into this game, with two coming on the road. The wins should not carry too much weight though as none of the clubs they played (Utah, Milwaukee, Denver and Charlotte) have records above .500. They defeated the Bobcats on Monday night by a score of 97-83 while holding them to just 35.3% shooting from the field. The road has not been too much of a hassle the Raptors, as they have gone 17-15 SU and a very impressive 22-10 ATS (69%, 2nd in NBA). Meanwhile, Atlanta is a solid 19-10 SU (16-13 ATS) at home despite its poor overall record. This game marks the third meeting between these teams this season as they have split the first two (both SU and ATS) with the home team coming away with each win. They last met on Feb. 12 when Toronto defeated the Hawks handily at home, 104-83, as 6.5-point favorites. Neither team shot very well in the game (39.5% FG combined), but the Raptors hit 11 three-pointers and forced 15 turnovers in the victory. Atlanta holds a 6-3 SU record in this series going back three seasons while Toronto has a slight 5-4 ATS edge in that timeframe. The Raptors have gone 17-6 ATS this season after having won five or six of their previous seven games, but have given bettors trouble during March games since 1996 with a record of 114-148 ATS (43.5%). On the injury front, PG Kyle Lowry (illness) has been upgraded to probable for the game while PF Patrick Patterson (elbow) is out indefinitely for Toronto. The Hawks have no recent injuries.

Can the Hawks extend their win streak to five games on Tuesday night? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2012-13 season. The five StatFox experts have been surging in NBA Best Bets recently with a 54% ATS record (67-58-1) since Feb. 10. StatFox Dave has a strong 57% ATS (43-32-1) Best Bets record since Dec. 1 and is 54% ATS (53-46-1) on Best Bets for the season. StatFox Brian remains red-hot, going 65% ATS (24-13-1) since Jan. 25 and 59% ATS (39-27-1) in Best Bets since Dec. 12. StatFox Gary is also heating up with a 60% ATS mark (12-8) since Feb. 13.

The Raptors do not bring one of the most explosive offenses into this game, ranking 17th in the NBA in scoring (100.5 PPG), but have put up 104.2 PPG (48% FG) in their past five games. On the other hand, their 97.2 PPG scoring defense ranks fifth-best in the league, while being slightly higher (99.8 PPG) over their past five contests, which have been against some of the better offenses in the league. SG DeMar DeRozan (22.5 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.1 SPG) shot just 6-for-16 from the field against Phoenix on Sunday, but still had a solid all-around game with 17 points, seven assists, four rebounds and four steals. He’s been incredible against the Hawks this season, going for 31.0 PPG (60% FG), 4.5 RPG and 1.5 APG over two games. PG Kyle Lowry (17.2 PPG, 7.9 APG, 4.7 RPG, 1.6 SPG) had his fourth 20-point effort over his past five games on Sunday and will be coming back from a recent bout with the flu and a knee to the head when playing the Suns. Lowry has scored 12.7 PPG (47% FG) with 7.2 APG over 13 career games (8 starts) against Atlanta, and has upped his averages in two meetings this season with 16.0 PPG and 8.5 APG. PF Amir Johnson (10.8 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.2 BPG) is averaging 16.6 PPG (64% FG) over his past five contests and netted 13.0 PPG (67% FG) to go along with 8.0 RPG and 2.0 SPG in two games against the Hawks this season.

Atlanta is second only to Miami among Eastern Conference teams in scoring with 101.5 PPG (13th in NBA), including 103.2 PPG over its past five contests. The Hawks also rank first in the league with 25.3 assists per game. The team’s defense has been its biggest problem, allowing opponents to score 102.1 PPG (10th-worst in NBA), but have held their competition under 98 points and 42% FG in each of the past three contests. PF Paul Millsap (17.9 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 1.8 SPG, 1.1 BPG) is shooting a career-low 45.7% FG this season, but has managed a career-high in scoring. The All-Star has done well against the Raptors over 14 career games (8 starts), averaging 16.3 PPG (57% FG) and 7.1 RPG. PG Jeff Teague (16.0 PPG, 7.0 APG, 1.1 SPG) scored 11 points (4-of-14 FG) while adding nine assists and six rebounds in the win over the Bobcats on Monday. He’s scored 15.0 PPG (31% FG) while dishing out 9.0 APG in the two contests against Toronto this season. SG Kyle Korver (12.3 PPG) has the best long-range accuracy clip in the league (49% threes) with the next best player (New York's Pablo Prigioni) hitting 46% of his long-range shots. Korver has the league's fourth-most three-pointers made (165), and he has been on fire recently, hitting 16 of his last 22 threes (73%) over the past five games. He also made 7-of-12 threes in his two games against the Raptors this season while averaging 12.5 PPG (47% FG).