Sportsbook NBA Odds
No. 7 NEW YORK KNICKS at No. 2 MIAMI HEAT
Sportsbook Line & Total: Miami -10 & 184.5
Opening Line & Total: Heat -9 & 184
After crushing the Knicks in Game 1, Miami looks to take a commanding 2-0 series lead Monday night.
Saturday’s series opener was a complete dismantling with Miami winning 100-67. Heat SF LeBron James dominated with 32 points and a +35 rating while Knicks star forwards Carmelo Anthony (3-for-15 FG) and Amar’e Stoudemire (2-for-7 FG) combined for just 20 points, posting ratings of -35 and -18 respectively. New York also turned the ball over 24 times and lost starting SG Iman Shumpert, the team’s best perimeter defender, with a torn ACL. And now the Knicks top interior defender, C Tyson Chandler, has the flu and is questionable to play in Game 2. Teams with a win percentage of 45-55% on the season are 54-98 ATS (35.5%) since 1996 when revenging a loss in which it scored less than 75 points. The Knicks won’t lose by 33 again, but they will fall by more than 10.
New York has shown the ability to quickly forget a loss, going 16-13-1 ATS after an SU defeat this season. The squad is also a strong 29-26-1 ATS with 0-to-1 days of rest this season. There weren’t a whole lot of positives to take from Saturday’s beatdown, but the Knicks did outrebound the Heat 41-38 and outscored them 28-26 in the paint. SG J.R. Smith showed that he’s capable of replacing Shumpert on the offensive end with a team-high 17 points on 7-of-17 FG. However, Smith had just two assists and four turnovers, while posting a minus-20 rating. PG Baron Davis (4-for-6 FG) and SF Steve Novak (2-for-2 FG) were the only Knicks players to make more than half of their shots. The rest of the team made just 19-of-62 FG attempts (30.6%).
Miami is just 27-31 ATS with 0-to-1 days of rest this season and 21-25 ATS after an SU win. But nobody played more than 34 minutes in Game 1, so tired legs shouldn’t be an issue on Monday night. Other than PF Chris Bosh, who had a substandard nine points and six rebounds, the rest of the Heat starting five all had strong performances. James made 10-of-14 FG and 11-of-14 FT, while tallying four steals on the defensive end. SG Dwyane Wade scored 19 on 8-of-13 shooting, but he did have a team-high five turnovers. PG Mario Chalmers notched 11 points, nine assists and three steals, while PF Udonis Haslem grabbed eight rebounds in just 19 minutes of action. The Miami bench has room for improvement, combining to shoot 9-of-28 FG and 6-of-17 threes.
No. 6 ORLANDO MAGIC at No. 3 INDIANA PACERS
Sportsbook Line & Total: Indiana -9.5 & 188
Opening Line & Total: Pacers -9 & 187.5
After being stunned at home in Game 1, Indiana looks to even its series with Orlando on Monday night.
The Magic weren’t expected to be competitive in this series, but they sure came to play on Saturday, holding the Pacers to 33 second-half points and winning 81-77. SG Jason Richardson was the shooting star with 17 points on 5-of-8 threes, while Dwight Howard’s replacement PF Glen Davis had 16 points and 13 rebounds. Indiana is now 4-9 ATS when giving more than eight points this season. And it’s not like the Magic won Game 1 with blistering three-point shooting (9-of-24). Three of the team’s best shooters -- Ryan Anderson, Hedo Turkoglu and J.J. Redick -- combined to make just 7-of-21 shots including 2-of-8 threes.
The Magic really made a commitment on the defensive end, blocking eight shots and only getting one less rebound than the much-bigger Pacers team. In addition to heroics from Richardson (five rebounds) and Davis (six offensive rebounds), PG Jameer Nelson managed the game effectively with 17 points (7-of-15 FG), nine assists and just three turnovers in his 38 minutes of action. PF Earl Clark provided a valuable 20 minutes off the bench with six points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Orlando is 20-15 ATS with one day of rest and 19-18 ATS after an SU win this year.
The Pacers shot a woeful 34.5% FG and 59% FT (13-of-22) in Game 1, as David West was the only Indiana player to make even 40% of his field goals, going 8-of-14 from the floor. West also had a team-high 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds. C Roy Hibbert was a difference maker on the defensive end with nine blocks and 13 rebounds, but he made just 3-of-11 shots and finished with eight points. SF Danny Granger also had a disappointing series opener, connecting on just 7-of-20 shots and committing half of his team’s 10 turnovers. He finished the game with 17 points, eight rebounds and a game-worst minus-10 rating. The Pacers four-man backcourt also struggled, combining to shoot 8-of-29 FG (2-of-9 threes) and a dreadful 2-of-9 free throws. Darren Collison had five assists and zero turnovers, but the other three guards -- George Hill, Paul George and Leandro Barbosa combined for just five assists. Indiana is just 11-13 ATS after an SU loss this season and 15-19 ATS with exactly one off-day.
No. 7 DALLAS MAVERICKS at No. 2 OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
Sportsbook Line & Total: Oklahoma City -6.5 & 194
Opening Line & Total: Thunder -6.5 & 194.5
The heavily-favored Thunder needed a last-second shot from Kevin Durant to outlast the defending champion Mavericks in Game 1, and now they look to win more comfortably on Monday night.
Durant’s 15-footer with one second left in regulation gave Oklahoma City a 99-98 win in a game that was tight throughout. Only five players scored for the Thunder, with four of them pumping in at least 19 points. Dallas was led by its usual suspects of Dirk Nowitzki (25 points) and Jason Terry, who scored 20 on 8-of-10 FG (4-of-5 threes). OKC dominated the interior with a 44-32 edge in points in the paint and blocked 11 Dallas shots. Road underdogs of 3½ to 9½ points coming off two straight losses against an opponent are just 32-61 ATS (34%) over the past five seasons when the previous game was a cover where the team lost the game straight up.
Dallas really attacked the glass on Saturday, outrebounding Oklahoma City 42-36 while pulling down 10 offensive boards. C Brendan Haywood had just four points, but grabbed seven rebounds (five offensive) in his 19 minutes of action. Although Nowitzki shot well (8-for-18 FG, 9-of-10 FT), he committed a game-high six turnovers and finished with just five rebounds in 36 minutes. SG Vince Carter was off the mark with his shot (5-for-14 FG), but had seven rebounds and a strong +7 rating. PG Jason Kidd made only 2-of-8 field goal tries, but contributed heavily in other areas with seven steals, six rebounds, five assists and just two turnovers. The Mavs have shown their resiliency this season, going 16-14 ATS after an SU defeat.
The Thunder are just 21-26 ATS after an SU victory, which was no easy task on Saturday. Four players logged at least 35 minutes with Durant playing 44. Despite his game-winning heroics, the NBA’s leading scorer made just 10-of-27 shots including 1-of-6 from downtown. But he didn’t let that affect the other parts of his game, tallying four blocks, six rebounds and four assists. PG Russell Westbrook was certainly bothered by the defense of Jason Kidd, finishing the game with five assists and just two turnovers. However, Westbrook was able to penetrate, making 13-of-23 FG and only settling for a pair of three-point tries. PF Serge Ibaka had a well-rounded evening, scoring 22 points on 9-of-12 FG, while chipping in five blocks and six boards. C Kendrick Perkins was held without a point, but was able to pull down eight boards in 26 minutes. SG James Harden showed no ill effects from the Metta World Peace concussion that kept him out of the final two regular season games. Harden needed just seven field-goal attempts to finish with 19 points, as he went 9-of-10 from the foul line. The only negative was his five turnovers.
