Does "momentum" exist or is it a myth???

I guess I am talking about carryover from night to night. I think I used to think that if a team scored 10 runs in a night that the following night, they would be "due to cool off" and I would play quite a few unders after big nights. As I have gotten older and hopefully a bit wiser, I realize this logic is flawed.

With that said, the Jazz beat the Heat about a week ago on the road. The next night they went to Orlando. Put aside the fact that they went back to back against 2 of the top 3 teams in the east on the road and won, but I really figured that after the Miami game they would be due to cool off and come back to earth a bit. Did they "ride the momentum" from the Miami win and keep it rolling? Incidentally, two nights later they won at Atlanta, another great road win.

With that said, the Suns hit 22 three-pointers Sunday night against the Lakers and won on the road. Last night, they played the Nuggets, an above average team, and instead of letting down they played another pretty good game and won again.

So, is there momentum? Is it a myth? How do you guys feel about that term?

I think a better term is confidence.

In sports, good players and teams will often continue to play well

Some people call that momentum, I call it ability

A roulette wheel may hit red 16 times in a row. Some people call that "hot," I call it randomness

I can't understand why are there so many people who can identify when these things are happening, yet don't bet on them?

It's hard to say from game-to-game I think but definitely, within a game in the college ranks, momentum is huge. A quick pick 6 or huge defensive stand can entirely change a game. These are just kids, they get deflated.