Spurs at Thunder Game 3: What Bettors Need to Know
By Covers.com
San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder (-3.5, 206.5)
THE STORY: Having been unable to slow down the San Antonio Spurs' juggernaut, the Oklahoma City Thunder will hope that returning to their home arena will swing the momentum when they host Game 3 of the Western Conference finals Thursday night. After rallying from a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit in Game 1, San Antonio put on an offensive clinic in dismantling the Thunder in Game 2 to improve to 10-0 in the postseason and stretch its unbeaten streak to a record 20 games.
ABOUT THE SPURS: How efficient has San Antonio’s offense been? Crunch these numbers: After they were limited to 62 points through three quarters of Game 1, the Spurs have shot 58.5 percent since and averaged nearly 32 points in each of the last five quarters. Point guard Tony Parker scored 34 points on 16-of-21 shooting in Game 2 and directed an attack that was unstoppable in stretches. San Antonio hit eight of nine shots in the second quarter to put the Thunder on their heels and blew the game open in the third quarter by burying nine of 11 attempts, including five consecutive 3-pointers. Sixth man Manu Ginobili has back-to-back 20-point games for only the third time this season and rookie Kawhi Leonard posted his first double-double since March 25.
ABOUT THE THUNDER: Oklahoma City received a combined 88 points from its Big 3 of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, yet still found itself staring at a 22-point deficit midway through the third quarter. The Thunder did get within six points in the fourth quarter, but they cannot match San Antonio basket-for-basket when three members of the staring five combine for 13 points. Three-time scoring champ Durant scored 31 points, but he took only 10 shots after scoring 12 first-quarter points. Conversely, forward Serge Ibaka and backup guard Derek Fisher each heaved up 11 shots. Point guards Westbrook and Harden combined for zero turnovers and Oklahoma City had just 10 total, showing the ease in which the Spurs are manufacturing points out of their set offense.
TRENDS:
- Over is 5-0-1 in the last six meetings in Oklahoma City.
- Spurs are 18-7-3 ATS in their last 28 road games.
- Thunder are 2-5 ATS in their last seven home games.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Only 14 teams in NBA history have come back to win a series after trailing 2-0.
2. San Antonio became the fourth team in league history to win 20 games in a row, and its streak extending from the regular season into the playoffs eclipsed the record of 19 straight wins set by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2001.
3. The Thunder are 5-0 at home in the playoffs, while the Spurs have not lost since April 11 and are 10-1 in the last 11 meetings with Oklahoma City.
Game 3, Spurs-Thunder
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
The Spurs are rolling not only from a playoff perspective, but from a historical standpoint after winning their 20th consecutive game on Tuesday night. San Antonio knocked off Oklahoma City once again to take a 2-0 series advantage in the Western Conference Finals, 120-111 as 4½-point favorites. The Thunder put together a late rally to make things interesting, but OKC couldn't recover after squandering a nine-point lead in the second half of Game 1.
San Antonio jumped out to an 11-point advantage at the half, 55-44 to cash as three-point first half favorites. The Spurs built a lead as big as 22 points in the second half, but the Thunder came back to cut the deficit to 103-96 with a shade over four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Obviously, San Antonio backers were afraid lightning would strike twice after James Harden's three-pointer at the buzzer in Game 1 gave OKC the backdoor cover as six-point 'dogs. However, the Spurs held on to improve to 17-3 ATS during their 20-game winning streak.
Tony Parker has the upper-hand in the much-anticipated point guard matchup between him and Russell Westbrook, as the Spurs' All-Star guard scored a game-high 34 points on an effective 16-for-21 shooting from the floor in Game 2. Westbrook held his own with 27 points, but 11 of those points came in the final quarter with the Thunder playing catch-up.
The key cog to Oklahoma City's attack is Kevin Durant, but the three-time scoring champion put up a measly four points in the fourth quarter on Tuesday. Durant tallied a team-high 31 points, as OKC lost its sixth consecutive game at AT&T Center dating back to February 2010. The Thunder dropped to 2-4 ATS in San Antonio during this span, but Oklahoma City returns to the friendly confines of Chesapeake Energy Arena for Game 3.
Scott Brooks' team has taken care of business in the playoffs with a 5-0 SU mark this season, while winning 11 of the last 14 postseason contests at home. However, the Thunder has cashed only six times, as OKC owns a 2-3 ATS record this postseason as home 'chalk.' The 'over' has been the play for the Thunder at home in the playoffs, hitting four of five times with the lone 'under' coming in Game 2 of the semifinals against the Lakers in a 77-75 win.
One of the big questions heading into Game 3 is if the Spurs can keep their hot streak going. VegasInsider.com's Chris David is here with analysis on the Spurs' historic stretch, "San Antonio's run of 20 straight wins has been anything short of amazing and the 17-3 record against the spread during this span is unbelievable. The betting public has not only been riding the Spurs to the cashier, but they've been getting extra bang with the parlay action. If you bet a parlay of San Antonio and the 'over' blindly during the last 20 games, you'd be sitting on 11 winning tickets for a profit just under $2,000."
However, David warns not to just go with San Antonio and the 'over' on principle, "Make a note that Spurs-Over parlay has only happened twice during the postseason, which includes Tuesday's outcome. With that being said, the Spurs-Under parlay has cashed six times in the last 20 and five times in the playoffs. Plus, San Antonio has seen the 'under' go 3-1 on the road in this year's postseason."
The Game 2 total easily eclipsed the 'over,' but David says not to assume the high-scoring will continue in Oklahoma City, "Does that make the 'under' a look in Game 3? The number is inflated up to 206 after the shootout in Game 2 and it's hard to think low-scoring affairs when OKC has watched the 'over' go 8-3 in the playoffs. If the Spurs shoot 55 percent from the field again, this will be an easy 'over' but that's a big 'If' on the road."
On the player props end for Game 3, Sportsbook.ag has a multitude of bets to make, including over/under on player points. Parker's points and assists for Thursday is set at 28 with the 'over' shaded to -125, as bettors have it fresh in their mind the 42 (points + assists) he put up in Game 2. However, Parker finished with below 26 points and assists combined in four of the previous six games before Game 2.
An interesting player prop on Oklahoma City's side according to Sportsbook.ag is points and assists from Harden, which is set at 21 ½ ('over' shaded to -125). The Sixth Man of the Year doesn't dish out many assists (33 in 11 playoff games), while Game 2's incredible 30 point effort off the bench was just his third playoff contest scoring at least 20 points.
The Thunder are listed as 3½-point favorites in a must-win spot in Game 3, while the total sits at 206½ following the high-scoring contest in Game 2. The game tips off at 9:00 PM EST and will be televised nationally on TNT.
NBA Preview
Spurs (2-0) @ Thunder -- San Antonio is 10-0 in playoffs, with seven of ten Ws by 10+ points; they've won their last 20 games, with last loss April 11, 50 days ago. Spurs won 10 of last 12 games against Thunder, with the ten wins by average of 8.9 points. Thunder is 8-3 in playoffs, 5-0 at home; they'll give their best shot here. Spurs won four of five vs OC this season, winning last four by 11-9-3-9 points. Oklahoma City led Game 1 by nine after three quarters, still lost-- their big three scored 88 points in Game 2 (30-54 from floor) but rest of team was 7-34 from the floor. Do their guards defend well enough to win here?
Armadillosports.com
SAN ANTONIO (60 - 16) at OKLAHOMA CITY (55 - 22)
Top Trends for this game.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 143-117 ATS (+14.3 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 37-21 ATS (+13.9 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent over the last 2 seasons.
SAN ANTONIO is 50-23 ATS (+24.7 Units) in all games this season.
SAN ANTONIO is 48-31 ATS (+13.9 Units) in road games over the last 2 seasons.
SAN ANTONIO is 23-8 ATS (+14.2 Units) after scoring 105 points or more this season.
SAN ANTONIO is 26-9 ATS (+16.1 Units) after 3 or more consecutive wins this season.
SAN ANTONIO is 31-13 ATS (+16.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
SAN ANTONIO is 17-6 ATS (+10.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season this season.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 2-10 ATS (-9.0 Units) in home games against Southwest division opponents this season.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 8-18 ATS (-11.8 Units) after scoring 105 points or more this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
SAN ANTONIO is 8-4 against the spread versus OKLAHOMA CITY over the last 3 seasons
SAN ANTONIO is 10-2 straight up against OKLAHOMA CITY over the last 3 seasons
8 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
SAN ANTONIO vs. OKLAHOMA CITY
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Antonio's last 6 games when playing on the road against Oklahoma City
San Antonio is 6-2-1 ATS in its last 9 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Oklahoma City's last 6 games when playing at home against San Antonio
Oklahoma City is 6-2-1 ATS in its last 9 games
San Antonio at Oklahoma City
San Antonio: 21-4 ATS with a total of 200+ points
Oklahoma City: 3-13 ATS after scoring 110+ points