Thunder at Spurs: What Bettors Need to Know
By Covers.com
THE STORY: With his team staring at its first defeat in nearly seven weeks, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich demanded that his players give him "some nasty." Did they ever. The Spurs roared back to erase a nine-point, fourth-quarter deficit in the Western Conference finals opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder and can take a 2-0 series lead Tuesday night. San Antonio is 9-0 in the playoffs and is riding a 19-game winning streak after handing the Thunder their second loss of the playoffs.
ABOUT THE THUNDER: Three-time league scoring champ Kevin Durant got little help – at least until it was too late – from Oklahoma City's other primary offensive contributors, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. “We had this game going into the fourth,” Durant said. The Thunder managed only one field goal in nearly 9 1/2 minutes to watch a nine-point lead turn into a 10-point deficit. Oklahoma City's defense also went belly up in the final quarter, allowing San Antonio to shoot 75 percent after limiting the Spurs to 25 percent shooting in the third quarter. The Thunder had 11 steals and nine blocked shots through three quarters and did not register one of either while surrendering 39 points in the fourth.
ABOUT THE SPURS: Manu Ginobili did not face the Thunder in three regular-season meetings, but he made up for lost time in Game 1. Limited to 34 games in the regular season due to injuries, the former Sixth Man of the Year turned back the clock by scoring 26 points, his highest output since the postseason a year ago. Once San Antonio inched ahead in the fourth quarter, Ginobili went for the jugular, scoring 11 points in a span of 5:08 to break the game open. Entering the conference finals, Ginobili was averaging only 11.3 points for the postseason. Reserve guard Gary Neal also came up big for the Spurs, scoring seven of his 12 points in the final quarter to give his team a 52-37 edge in bench scoring.
TRENDS:
- Thunder are 4-0-1 ATS in their last five road games.
- Spurs are 22-5-1 ATS in their last 28 home games.
- Thunder are 3-7 ATS in the last 10 meetings.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Spurs' 19-game winning streak extended from the regular season into the playoffs matched the Los Angeles Lakers of 2001 for the longest in league history. They are the fourth team in league history to win as many as 19 in a row.
2. The Thunder have lost nine of the last 10 meetings with the Spurs, including three of four this season.
3. Durant failed to hit at least one 3-pointer for the first time in 16 games.
Game 2, Thunder-Spurs
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
The opening game of the Western Conference Finals lived up to the billing as the Spurs pulled out a 101-98 victory over the Thunder. However, bettors on each side had to sweat things out in the final seconds as James Harden drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Oklahoma City the ATS win as 5½-point underdogs. It turned into a bitter defeat for Spurs backers, but that group should be thankful that San Antonio was even in that position after trailing by nine heading into the fourth quarter.
Oklahoma City turned around an early six-point deficit into a one-point halftime lead, 47-46, while cashing as 3½-point underdogs in the first half. The game easily was on pace for an 'under' following a 42-point opening quarter by the two teams, as the first half 'under' of 103 hit without breaking a sweat. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined to score 13 points in a 29-point second quarter, the most scored in any period by the Thunder in Game 1.
However, the Thunder couldn't capitalize on a 71-62 advantage heading into the final quarter, as the Spurs put together an 11-2 run to even things up at 73 apiece with eight minutes to go in regulation. Gregg Popovich's club almost bailed out Spurs' bettors by grabbing a 10-point lead with 1:57 remaining following a Manu Ginobili three-point play. In fact, things looked good for second half San Antonio backers (-4) getting an adjusted line at -3 for the game, but the late Harden three-pointer turned second half plays into a 'push.'
The Spurs are riding an incredible 19-game winning streak after scoring 39 points in the final quarter on Sunday, but failed to cover consecutive contests for the first time since mid-April. During this hot streak, San Antonio owns a dazzling 15-3-1 ATS record, while breaking the 100-point plateau on 17 occasions. The perception throughout the playoffs is the Spurs will score a ton of points, but the 'under' is a perfect 4-0 when the total closes at 200 or above.
Oklahoma City lost for just the second time in 10 postseason games, while the 5 ½-point number in the series opener was the largest amount of points the Thunder has received this season. Scott Brooks' club is 6-1-1 ATS the last eight contests since failing to cover the first two games of the opening round series against the Mavericks. The big three of Durant, Westbrook, and Harden combined to score 63 points, while receiving an unexpected 13 points off the bench from veteran guard Derek Fisher.
VegasInsider.com's Chris David analyzes this series from a totals perspective, "The closing total of 204 was never threatened on Sunday, even though both teams combined for 199 points. If you didn't watch the game, be aware that 66 points was scored in the final quarter, including an eye opening 27 points in the last three minutes, which definitely helped second-half bettors chasing with 'over' wagers."
As far as Game 2 goes, David believes that the feeling-out process is behind both teams, "Game 1 had a decent pace and I believe you'll see more of the same on Tuesday. It's just a matter of making shots and the seven and six-day layoffs for both teams definitely showed. Books sent out an opener of 202 for Game 2 and it was bet down to 201, which isn't surprising."
David points out that amazingly the Spurs aren't a lock to hit the 'over' in spite of their high-scoring ways, "San Antonio has been an 'under' team at home this season (21-17), especially in the playoffs (4-1). This Spurs team doesn't have the same defense as the past championship squads they put on the court, but nobody has scored more than 100 on them during this year's playoffs. OKC did come close to surpassing that number in Game 1, but 14 of its points did come at the end when they tried to extend the game."
Favorites are winning at a torrid pace in the playoffs, capturing 14 consecutive straight-up victories since May 17, while cashing 11 times against the number. The battle going into Game 2 from a pointspread perspective is whether to ride the red-hot Spurs or back a Thunder club that is rolling ATS since Game 3 of the first round.
Even though the Thunder came up short in Game 1, there are favorable odds for OKC to win this series in five games (25/1) according to Sportsbook.ag. The lowest odds for a series victory are 5/2 for the Spurs to win in six games, while the Thunder is listed at 9/1 to capture the series in seven games.
The Spurs are set as 4½-point home favorites in Game 2, as the total has dipped to 201. The game tips off at 8:30 PM EST and can be seen nationally on TNT.
NBA Preview
Thunder @ Spurs (1-0) -- San Antonio is 9-0 in playoffs, with six of nine Ws by 10+ points; they've won their last 19 games, with last loss April 11, 48 days ago. Spurs won nine of last eleven games against Thunder, with the nine wins by average of 8.9 points. Thunder is 8-2 in playoffs, with only losses by three points each. Spurs won three of four vs OC this season, winning last three by 11-9-3 points. Game 1 losers are 9-3 vs spread in Game 2's in playoffs this spring, with under 7-5. Oklahoma City led Game 1 by nine after three quarters, still lost, bad omen- they were -14 in 17 minutes Sefolosha was off the court.
Armadillosports.com
OKLAHOMA CITY (55 - 21) at SAN ANTONIO (59 - 16)
Top Trends for this game.
SAN ANTONIO is 49-23 ATS (+23.7 Units) in all games this season.
SAN ANTONIO is 39-18 ATS (+19.2 Units) as a favorite this season.
SAN ANTONIO is 27-9 ATS (+17.1 Units) in home games this season.
SAN ANTONIO is 120-82 ATS (+29.8 Units) on Tuesday nights since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 25-9 ATS (+15.1 Units) after 3 or more consecutive wins this season.
SAN ANTONIO is 30-13 ATS (+15.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
SAN ANTONIO is 16-6 ATS (+9.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season this season.
SAN ANTONIO is 88-62 ATS (+19.8 Units) in home games versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game - 2nd half of the season since 1996.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 143-116 ATS (+15.4 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 83-58 ATS (+19.2 Units) as an underdog since 1996.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 49-36 ATS (+9.4 Units) in road games over the last 2 seasons.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 17-5 ATS (+11.5 Units) in road games on Tuesday nights since 1996.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 37-20 ATS (+15.0 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent over the last 2 seasons.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 47-30 ATS (+14.0 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
SAN ANTONIO is 7-4 against the spread versus OKLAHOMA CITY over the last 3 seasons
SAN ANTONIO is 9-2 straight up against OKLAHOMA CITY over the last 3 seasons
7 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
OKLAHOMA CITY vs. SAN ANTONIO
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Oklahoma City's last 6 games on the road
Oklahoma City is 6-1-1 ATS in its last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Antonio's last 5 games when playing Oklahoma City
San Antonio is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games when playing Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City at San Antonio
Oklahoma City: 6-1 Over after playing as an underdog
San Antonio: 16-6 ATS off an ATS loss