Tuesday's Tips
Bettors are loving life Tuesday with four games on tap in the NBA Playoffs. Are the Lakers in trouble? Might the Thunder be able to pull a Golden State (over Dallas) circa 2007 or a Denver (over Seattle) circa ’94? We’ll have a better idea after Game 5, which is one of the four games on the card.
**Heat at Celtics**
--With its season on the line Sunday, Dwyane Wade carried Miami (48-38 straight up, 43-42-1 against the spread) to a 101-92 victory by exploding for a game-high 48 points. The Heat took the money as a 1 ½-point favorite in Game 4 in South Florida. Quentin Richardson added 20 points, seven rebounds and three steals, draining 4-of-6 attempts from 3-point range. Michael Beasley finished with 15 points, while veteran Udonis Haslem pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds.
--Trailing the series 3-1, Miami returns to Beantown with hopes of becoming the first team in NBA postseason history to recover from a 0-3 deficit to win a seven-game series. For Game 5, Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened Boston as a 4 ½-point favorite with a total of 187 ½. As of early this morning, most spots had the Celtics favored by six with a total of 188. The Heat are plus-250 to win outright (risk $100 to win $250).
--Boston (53-33 SU, 36-48-2 ATS) rallied from a 14-point deficit in the third quarter of Game 1 to win an 85-76 decision over the Heat. Then in Game 2, the Celtics stroked Miami 106-77 despite the one-game suspension of Kevin Garnett. In Game 3, Paul Pierce buried a game-winning jumper to beat the buzzer and give the C’s a 100-98 triumph for a 3-0 series advantage.
--Doc Rivers’ squad has been mediocre at home all year, going 26-17 SU and 14-28-1 ATS. Meanwhile, the Heat has a 23-20 SU record and a 24-19 ATS ledger on the road.
--The ‘over’ is 44-41-1 overall for the Celtics, 23-19-1 in their home outings.
--The ‘under’ is 46-38-2 overall for Miami, 24-17-2 in its road assignments.
--The ‘over’ is 8-2 in the last 10 head-to-head meetings between these Eastern Conference rivals.
--Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Eastern on SunSports and Comcast New England.
**Bulls at Cavaliers**
--LVSC opened Cleveland (64-22 SU, 40-45-1 ATS) as an 11-point ‘chalk’ with a total of 195 ½. As of early this morning, most books had the Cavs at 12 with the total up to 199 ½. The Bulls have generous 14/1 odds to win outright.
--Chicago (42-44 SU, 44-40-2 ATS) captured a 108-106 victory at home Thursday to pull to within 2-1 in this first-round showdown with the Eastern Conference’s top seed. Derrick Rose was the catalyst with 31 points and seven assists without a turnover. Kirk Hinrich added 27 points, five rebounds and five assists compared to just one turnover, while Joakim Noah produced 10 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and a pair of blocked shots.
--With the Bulls looking to pull even Sunday, Mike Brown’s team responded in resounding fashion. After falling behind by a 14-10 count early, the Cavs took control and cruised to a 121-98 win as 5 ½-point road favorites. LeBron James was nothing short of sensational, registering a triple-double with 37 points, 12 boards and 11 assists. Antawn Jamison chipped in with 24 points and seven boards, while Mo Williams added 19 points.
--Chicago’s Derrick Rose and Luol Deng are both expected to play in Game 5, but neither player will be at 100 percent. Rose had an MRI on his ankle Monday, while Deng missed practice with a sore right knee and calf. Deng missed 11 straight games late in the regular season with a calf injury.
--The Bulls, who are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 road outings, are 23-20 ATS on the road this season. Cleveland is 37-6 SU but just 17-26 versus the number at home in QuickenLoans Arena.
--The ‘over’ is 42-41-3 overall for the Cavs, 21-21-1 in their home games.
--The ‘under’ has been a money maker in Chicago games, cashing at a 48-37-1 overall clip and a 25-17-1 rate in its road assignments.
--Tip-off is slated for 8:05 p.m. Eastern on TNT.
**Spurs at Mavericks**
--Dallas (56-30 SU, 38-46-2 ATS) is surprisingly facing elimination when it returns home Tuesday for Game 5. The Spurs have won three straight in this series following Sunday night’s nail-biting victory.
--San Antonio (53-33 SU, 46-38-2 ATS) was hearing its obituary read after a 100-94 loss at Dallas in Game 1. I guess we can accurately say that its demise was greatly exaggerated. The Spurs have responded with wins in Games 2, 3 and 4 by the following scores: 102-88, 94-90 and 92-89.
--George Hill led the way for the Spurs in Game 4, pacing five double-digit scorers with a game-high 29 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field. Manu Ginobli finished with 17 points, seven assists and four steals, while Richard Jefferson added 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
--Most spots are listing Dallas as a five-point favorite with a total of 193. Bettors can back the Spurs to win outright for a plus-200 payout (risk $100 to win $200).
--Dirk Nowitzki had 17 points and 11 rebounds in the Game 4 loss. He made 4-of-10 attempts from the field and all of his free throws. Nowitzki is averaging 28.0 points per game in the series, including a 35-point effort in a Game 3 defeat.
--The ‘over’ is 43-42-1 overall for the Mavs, 22-20-1 in their home outings.
--The ‘under’ is 46-37-3 overall for the Spurs, 27-14-2 in their road games.
--The ‘under’ is 6-1-1 in the last eight head-to-head meetings between these Western Conference adversaries.
--NBA-TV will have television coverage at 9:35 p.m. ET.
**Thunder at Lakers**
--LVSC opened Los Angeles (59-27 SU, 34-39-3 ATS) as a 5 ½-point favorite with a total of 196. As of early this morning, most books had the Lakers as six-point ‘chalk’ with the total reduced to 194. Gamblers can take the Thunder on the money line for a plus-250 return (risk $100 to win $250).
--Oklahoma City (52-34 SU, 51-35 ATS) bounced back from a pair of losses at L.A. to win Games 3 and 4 back at home. The Thunder prevailed by a 101-96 count as a 3 ½-point favorite in Thursday’s Game 3. Then on Saturday in OKC, the Thunder rolled to a 110-89 triumph as a one-point home ‘chalk.’
--Kevin Durant scored a team-high 22 points in Game 4. Russell Westbrook added 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists without committing a turnover. Jeff Green and James Harden had 15 points apiece.
--Kobe Bryant didn’t take a shot in the first quarter of the Game 4 loss. His first attempt didn’t come until several minutes into the second quarter. Bryant finished with 12 points, four assists, three rebounds and three turnovers of a ho-hum effort. Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol shared team-high honors with 13 points apiece. After the game, Bryant offered up this inexplicable explanation for his lack of aggressiveness on offense: "I was managing the game exactly how I wanted to." Oh, ok. Bryant, notorious for being one of the most shot-happy player sin league history, who had 29 attempts while he often played one-on-five in a Game 3 loss, was 'managing' the game. Whatever, you loser. As I've maintained forever, Bryant is the biggest nightmare teammate in NBA history.
--Phil Jackson’s team is mired in a 1-6 ATS slide in its last seven games. For the season, the Lakers are 36-7 SU and 17-24-2 ATS at home.
--OKC owns a 23-20 SU record on the road, but the Thunder has been more dynamic on the road for our purposes with a 27-16 ATS mark.
--The ‘under’ is 48-37-1 overall for the Lakers, 25-17-1 in their road games.
--The ‘over’ is 45-38-3 overall for the Thunder, 24-18-1 in its road outings.
--TNT will have the telecast at 10:30 p.m. ET.
**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**
--Milwaukee pulled even with Atlanta by winning last night's Game 4 by a 111-104 score as a two-point home underdog. Brandon Jennings and Carlos Delfino scored 22 points apiece for the Bucks, who will return to Philips Arena as underdogs for Wednesday's Game 5.
--Orlando completed a four-game sweep of the Bobcats by winning 99-90 last night at Charlotte. The Magic will now get plenty of rest and await the Atlanta-Milwaukee winner.
--Facing elimination back home at Pepsi Center on Wednesday, Denver is listed as a 6 ½-point favorite vs. Utah for Wednesday’s Game 5.
--Following Denver’s Game 4 loss Sunday at Utah, J.R. Smith tweeted the following gem: You play selfish you lose selfish that’s all I’m saying about the game! Might Smith, notorious for never encountering a shot he didn’t like, be pointing fingers at Carmelo Anthony with the ‘selfish’ remark? ‘Melo had 39 points on 13-of-26 shooting, but he did commit nine turnovers. Smith was 3-for-11 from the field, 1-of-4 from beyond the arc.
--Why did Utah cast off rookie guard Eric Maynor so quickly? The VCU product had 13 points for OKC in Game 4 against the Lakers. Maynor, who burst on the scene by beating Duke as a sophomore with a game-winning bucket during the 2008 NCAA Tournament, connected on 3-of-5 shots from the floor and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe.
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