The San Antonio Spurs, after reeling off 10 consecutive playoff wins, will look to halt a two game postseason skid tonight when they host the Thunder for Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. This evening’s game, which will be broadcast live on TNT, is scheduled to get underway at 9:00pm ET. The latest NBA Odds have the hosting Spurs listed as a -5 against the spread favorite; the Over/Under is set at 203 points. San Antonio is a -230 play to win outright while the Thunder are a +190 moneyline dog (risk $100 to win $190).
It was not the 102-82 blowout of Game 3, but the Thunder, other than a shoddy third quarter, controlled Game 4 to even their series with the Spurs. Defensively Oklahoma City was anything but remarkable, limiting San Antonio to 50 percent from the field and 47.8 percent from long range; however, its offensive exploits made up for any deficiencies on defense.
The Thunder connected on 44-of-78 from the field and got huge efforts from Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka. Durant, who scored 18 points in the Thunder’s 34 point fourth quarter, finished with a team high 36. Ibaka tallied 26 points after going a perfect 11-for-11 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
Kendrick Perkins and James Harden also reached double figures, scoring 15 and 11 points respectively, helping to make up for an off night from Russell Westbrook. Westbrook, who averaged 22.6 points per game in OKC’s first 12 playoff games, scored just seven points on 2-of-10 shooting.
Now the Thunder must find a way to steal one on the road in order to win this series; a daunting task to say the least given San Antonio’s record at the AT&T Center. The Spurs went 28-5 at home during the regular season and they are 6-0 as a host in the playoffs. To make matters worse for Oklahoma City, San Antonio is 6-0 in its last six games opposite the Thunder at the AT&T Center, beating them by an average of 10 points per game.
What, if anything, has happened recently to make anyone think that trend is set for a halt? Nothing. Take the Spurs minus the five points.
NBA Odds Betting Trend: San Antonio is 10-0 straight up and 7-3 against the spread in its last 10 games as a home favorite with a spread between 4 and 7.5 and total between 200 and 205 points.
Want to dominate the books with winning Pro NBA Plays during the 2012 NBA Playoffs? Get with the best NBA Odds experts in the business, sign up right now and receive NBA Plays Free!
2012 NBA Playoff Odds Oklahoma City Thunder vs San Antonio Spurs Game 5: Provided by Bovada.lv
Oklahoma City Thunder +5 (-110), Over 203 (-110), +190 (Moneyline)
San Antonio Spurs -5 (-110), Under 203 (-110), -230 (Moneyline)
