NBA Betting News and Notes Thursday, May 16

Thursday's NBA Playoff Action: What Bettors Need to Know
By Covers.com

Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks (-4.5 179)

Indiana leads series 3-1.

The New York Knicks have not been able to get anything done against the Indiana Pacers’ defense. The Pacers will be looking to ride that defense to a series victory when they attempt to close out the host Knicks in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Thursday. New York has only had one stretch of strong offense and used it to secure its only win in Game 2. The Knicks have been held to an average of 76.5 points in the last two games.

Indiana has chased New York off the 3-point line and has controlled the glass to gain second-chance points and keep the Knicks from getting out on the break. New York stars Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith were a combined 15-for-45 from the field Tuesday and have struggled throughout the series. Knicks coach Mike Woodson is still looking at things optimistically. “It takes four games to get out of this series,” he said. “We go home, we handle our business at home and we get back (to Indiana) on Friday and see if we can force Game 7. That’s what I’m thinking. That’s the only way I’m thinking.”

ABOUT THE PACERS: Paul George has not been shooting well in the series but has been able to make an impact in several other places. The All-Star forward has played tight defense on Anthony and has been a force on the glass along with the rest of the Indiana frontcourt. George Hill shouldered more of the scoring load in Game 4, including 14 of the Pacers’ 19 points in the third quarter that kept the team in control. “(Hill) was spectacular, maybe the best game I’ve ever seen him play,” Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. “He was just making all the winning plays. He not only executed our offense, he bailed us out a few times when things broke down late in the shot clock.” Hill finished with a Game 4-high 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting.

ABOUT THE KNICKS: Anthony has shot under 40 percent from the field in six of the last seven games but Smith has been even worse, connecting at 28.6 percent in six games since serving a one-game suspension during Game 4 of the first round. “I take the blame for this whole series,” Smith told reporters after Game 4. “It started off with Game 4 in Boston or Game 5. I haven’t been playing myself. I haven’t been playing my part. I’ve been letting my teammates down. I’ve been letting my coaches down.” New York attempted to counter Indiana’s size advantage by starting Tyson Chandler and Kenyon Martin together in the frontcourt. That may have played a part in poor shooting nights from Roy Hibbert and David West in the Pacers frontcourt, but the Knicks were still outrebounded 54-36.

TRENDS:

* Pacers are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
* Under is 8-2-1 in Knicks last 11 overall.
* Under is 3-1-1 in the last 5 meetings.
* Favorite is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Knicks F Amar’e Stoudemire (knee) played 11 minutes in Game 4 off the bench and had as many fouls as points (four).

2. Indiana is 7-0 in the postseason when Hill scores more than 12 points.

3. New York G Jason Kidd has not scored in any of the last eight games despite playing at least 15 minutes in each.

San Antonio Spurs at Golden State Warriors (+1.5, 195.5)

San Antonio leads series 3-2.

The experience and execution of the San Antonio Spurs has allowed them to grab control of their Western Conference semifinal series against the Golden State Warriors. The Spurs will have a chance to close out the series when they visit the Warriors for Game 6 Thursday. Golden State star Stephen Curry was held to nine points in Game 5 and has shot under 50 percent in each of the last four games while struggling through an ankle sprain.

San Antonio guard Tony Parker has been battling a calf injury but showed no signs that he was slowed while collecting 25 points and 10 assists in Game 5. The All-Star slashed through the Warriors perimeter defense and made Curry work hard at both ends of the floor. “Our energy was good,” Parker said after the game. “We got the 50-50 ball. That was huge for us tonight. … Tonight we played for 48 minutes.” The Spurs even outrebounded the Warriors for the first time in the series 38-36 as Tim Duncan got the better of Andrew Bogut down low.

ABOUT THE SPURS: San Antonio used a 15-0 run in the first quarter of Game 5 to seize control and did not trail the rest of the way. After shooting poorly in the fourth quarter and overtime during the Game 4 loss, the Spurs hit 51.9 percent from the field back at home for Game 5. Two of the biggest contributors were Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, who each came up with big shots to help slow Golden State runs. Coach Gregg Popovich was quick to credit the effort on defense and on the glass. “The series for us is all about the defense,” he told reporters. “…We got a lot of mismatches. They love those mismatches, so we have to play intelligently. I thought we did that tonight. But we followed up the defense with a board. There is no stop until the board is secured.” Duncan secured 11 boards and is averaging 11.2 in the series.

ABOUT THE WARRIORS: Golden State got this far with a lot of energy and some incredible shooting performances from Curry and Klay Thompson. The Warriors did not have either one of those things in San Antonio Tuesday. Curry and Thompson combined for 13 points on 6-of-22 shooting, and Thompson, whose 8-of-9 performance from beyond the arc helped Golden State even the series in Game 2, did not even attempt a 3-pointer. “I was terrible, plain and simple,” Curry told reporters. “They outplayed us as a team. Individually, I didn’t have anything on either end. (I was) a step slow, my shot wasn’t falling and I was trying to make plays but defensively I lost a little focus.” Coach Mark Jackson pulled Curry and Thompson with over four minutes left to give Curry all the time he could to rest up his ankle for Game 6. The Warriors pulled off an overtime home win in Game 4 and have gone 4-1 in their own arena this postseason, with the lone setback coming to the Spurs in Game 3, 102-92.

TRENDS:

* Warriors are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 home games.
* Under is 12-3-1 in Spurs last 16 road games.
* Spurs are 3-12 ATS in their last 15 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record.
* Underdog is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Duncan (143) needs one more double-double to snap a tie with Wilt Chamberlain and move into sole possession of second place on the all-time playoff list. Magic Johnson leads with 157.

2. Barnes is the first player in history to record 25 or more points in back-to-back playoff games after never reaching that mark in the regular season.

3. Golden State F David Lee played 12 minutes Tuesday - his longest stretch since suffering a torn hip flexor in Game 1 of the first round.

Thursday Playoff Tips
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com

The two road teams taking the court on Thursday night need just one victory to advance to the conference finals. The Pacers' defense stifled the Knicks in two home blowouts, while the Spurs are slowly getting their act together against the upstart Warriors. We'll start in the Big Apple with New York trying to shake things up and save its season.

Pacers at Knicks

It seemed like Miami and New York were on a collision course to meet in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat will be there for a third straight postseason, but the Knicks are pulling up lame at the moment, sitting one loss away from elimination. New York should be thrilled to be heading back to Madison Square Garden, as the Atlantic Division need to find its scoring touch after two subpar performances in the Hoosier State.

Following a 71-point output in Saturday's Game 3 setback, Mike Woodson's team fell short again in Monday's Game 4 defeat at Indiana, 93-82 as five-point underdogs. The game finished 'under' the total of 179½ in spite of a 52-point barrage in the fourth quarter. Both the Pacers and Knicks each converted 31 shots from the floor, but New York managed to attempt 11 more shots, while hitting just 35%. The volume shooters known as Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith combined to shoot 16-of-45 from the field, as the Knicks never led once in the loss.

The Pacers pretty much held a double-digit advantage in the second half, led by George Hill's game-high 26 points on an efficient 9-of-14 shooting. Paul George, David West, and Roy Hibbert each pulled down double-digit rebounds, as George continued to shine in the postseason with 18 points. Indiana improved to 5-0 SU/ATS in the playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, as all five victories have come by at least 11 points.

The series shifts back to MSG as the Knicks own a 1-2 SU/ATS record the last three home games after a 12-game winning streak from early March through Game 2 of the first round. Indiana has covered five of its last six following consecutive losses at Atlanta in the opening round, as the Pacers have limited their opponents to 95 points or less in seven of 10 postseason contests.

Spurs at Warriors

Through the first two games of this series, Golden State sat in the driver's seat after grabbing a split in Texas. However, the Spurs managed to win one of two games at tough Oracle Arena to flip the home-court advantage back in San Antonio's favor. Following Monday's decisive home victory, the Spurs are back on track to return to the conference finals for the second straight season.

Stephen Curry helped lead Golden State's rally to capture Game 4 in overtime, but the sharpshooting guard was limited to nine points on 4-of-14 shooting in a 109-91 setback in Game 5. The Spurs easily cashed as seven-point favorites, while nailing the 'over' for the first time since back in the Game 1 double-overtime thriller. The only three Warriors that finished in double-figures was the unlikely trio of Harrison Barnes, Jarrett Jack, and Carl Landry, who combined for 61 points.

The Spurs found their groove offensively by shooting 51% from the floor, including a smooth 7-of-8 from Kawhi Leonard for 17 points. Tony Parker proved to be the best guard on the floor by scoring a team-high 25 points, while San Antonio drilled 10 three-pointers in the win. San Antonio now needs to find some consistency, as neither team has won consecutive games in this series.

After covering each of its first eight playoff games, Mark Jackson's club owns a 1-2 SU/ATS record the last three contests. The Warriors have compiled a 4-1 ATS mark at Oracle Arena in the playoffs, with the lone defeat coming to the Spurs in Game 3. San Antonio has put together a 3-8 SU and 4-7 ATS mark the previous 11 away contests, but the Spurs have limited the Lakers and Warriors to 92 points or less in regulation in four road playoff games.

2013 NBA Playoffs

Take away the 30-2 run at end of Game 2 and Pacers might already have swept this series; Anthony is 25-67 (37.3%) in three Indy win in series, 13-26 in one Knick win. JR Smith is 26-85 in five losses vs Pacers, 15-36 in three New York Ws- in six games since his suspension in Boston series, Smith is shooting 27% from floor. Ten of last 14 Knick games stayed under the total; 12 of last 18 Indy games went over. Prigioni has to play more for Knicks to thrive; this series isn't over- they need pair of home wins and only one road upset, but they need to solve tough Pacer defense, and 19-foot fadeaways ain't the answer.

Warriors are 12-2 against spread in last 14 games overall; under is 6-5 in Golden State's playoff games. Spurs are 7-2 in playoffs, with six wins by double digits; home side is 7-2 in series games this year. Three of last four series games stayed under. Leads haven't been safe in Warrior-Spur series; SA came back from huge deficit to win Game 1, blew 80-72 lead with 4:40 left in Game 4, now its win or go home for gritty Golden State group. Under is 11-10 league-wide in this round of playoffs. Spurs have four NBA titles; they can handle hostile environments, are 3-1 on road in playoffs, with only loss here in overtime. Golden State will need Curry and Thompson to force Game 7; they were 6-22 in Game 5.

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