Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets
The Lakers dominated the fourth quarter and came away with a 103-94 victory over the Nuggets in Game 5 on Wednesday to go up 3-2 in the series.
The Lakers covered the 6-point spread, while the 197 points fell UNDER the posted total of 209.5.
Lamar Odom netted a double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds for Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant poured in 22 points in that win.
Carmelo Anthony dropped 31 points with four rebounds and four assists in the loss for the Nuggets.
Team records:
Los Angeles: 65-17 SU, 42-39-1 ATS
Denver: 54-28 SU, 45-36-1 ATS
Los Angeles most recently:
When playing on Friday are 4-6
After playing Denver are 6-4
After a win are 4-6
Denver most recently:
When playing on Friday are 4-6
After playing LA Lakers are 4-6
After a loss are 8-2
A few trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of the LA Lakers last 9 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of the LA Lakers last 7 games when playing on the road against Denver
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of the LA Lakers last 12 games when playing Denver
LA Lakers are 13-3 SU in their last 16 games when playing Denver
Denver is 17-1 SU in its last 18 games at home
Denver is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Denver's last 7 games when playing at home against LA Lakers
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Denver's last 12 games when playing LA Lakers
LA LAKERS (76 - 23) at DENVER (64 - 33)
Top Trends for this game.
DENVER is 58-38 ATS (+16.2 Units) in all games this season.
DENVER is 38-24 ATS (+11.6 Units) as a favorite this season.
DENVER is 30-18 ATS (+10.2 Units) in home games this season.
DENVER is 115-83 ATS (+23.7 Units) on Friday nights since 1996.
DENVER is 10-1 ATS (+8.9 Units) in home games against Pacific division opponents this season.
DENVER is 13-2 ATS (+10.8 Units) in all playoff games this season.
DENVER is 23-10 ATS (+12.0 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent this season.
DENVER is 33-21 ATS (+9.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
DENVER is 24-8 ATS (+15.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season this season.
DENVER is 14-6 ATS (+7.4 Units) in home games versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game this season.
LA LAKERS are 107-92 ATS (+5.8 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
LA LAKERS are 24-11 ATS (+11.9 Units) as an underdog over the last 2 seasons.
LA LAKERS are 56-40 ATS (+12.0 Units) in road games over the last 2 seasons.
LA LAKERS are 21-9 ATS (+11.1 Units) in a road game where where the total is between 205 and 209.5 points over the last 3 seasons.
LA LAKERS are 57-40 ATS (+13.0 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
LA LAKERS are 40-21 ATS (+16.9 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game - 2nd half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
LA LAKERS is 13-7 against the spread versus DENVER over the last 3 seasons
LA LAKERS is 14-6 straight up against DENVER over the last 3 seasons
14 of 20 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
Western Conference Finals
LA Lakers at Denver
LA Lakers:
24-11 ATS as an underdog
9-1 Under in Conference Finals
Denver:
10-1 ATS at home vs. Pacific Division
20-6 ATS if road underdog last game
LA LAKERS vs. DENVER
LA Lakers are 5-2 SU in their last 7 games when playing on the road against Denver
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of the LA Lakers last 7 games when playing on the road against Denver
Denver is 12-2-1 ATS in its last 15 games
Denver is 18-7 SU in its last 25 games
NBA Playoffs
Odom had 19 points, 14 boards in Game 5 win; now Lakers go to Finals if they win Game 6 here, where they split Games 3-4. Denver got to the foul line 37-49 times in its two series wins, 35-31-30 in losses, so they have to take ball to basket and make it a foul shooting contest. LA subs kicked Denver's butt in Game 5 (Nugget subs were combined -41). The home team has yet to trail at halftime (4-0-1) in series. Underdog is 6-4 vs spread so far in this round of the playoffs.
Tips and Trends
Los Angeles Lakers at Denver Nuggets
Lakers: The Lakers finally discovered ways to get more balanced play, especially from their bigs. Derek Fisher said, "It's possible something clicked for us as a group last night against this team. We may have found some things we can do that allows us to attack them from everywhere. We feel we can't be beat when everybody's getting a chance to play." Kobe Bryant said, "We've had stretches where we've played excellent defense, but the competition we're facing with this Denver Nuggets team is unlike anything we've ever seen. They have so many scorers, they have an inside presence. So ... I'm very proud of how we performed in that stretch."
The Lakers are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games following a SU win.
The Under is 9-1 in the Lakers' last 10 Conference Finals games.
Key Injuries - NONE
PROJECTED SCORE: 99
Nuggets (-5.5, O/U 208.5): Denver must win two games in a 48-hour span against the Lakers, who haven't lost back-to-back games since March. "For most of the series, we outplayed them for most stretches of the game," Chauncey Billups said. "We just couldn't get over the hump in the fourth quarter in a few different situations." Denver has committed 11 technical fouls in this series and defensive stud Dahntay Jones is one more flagrant-1 foul away from a suspension. Coach George Karl said he won't rein in his players for Game 6 in Friday night in Denver.
The Nuggets are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 playoff games as a favorite.
The Nuggets are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 games following a SU loss.
Key Injuries - NONE
PROJECTED SCORE: 109 (Side Play of the Day)