The 2012 NBA Finals will get underway tonight as the Western Conference champion Thunder host Eastern Conference winner Miami at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. This evening’s series opener is schedule for a 9:00pm ET tip on ABC. NBA Odds have the Thunder listed as a -5.5 against the spread home favorite while the Over 196 points is favored at -115 odds (risk $115 to win $100). Oklahoma City, which is drawing -165 odds to win the best of seven series, is a -230 favorite in tonight’s opener. Miami is a +190 (risk $100 to win $190) to pull off the Game 1 upset.
Miami needed seven games to get past a gritty Boston Celtics team, but get by them it did with a 101-88 win in the finale. The Heat’s season appeared as though it might be in jeopardy when they went into the break down 46-53, but they dominated the final two frames, outscoring the Celtics 55-35.
LeBron James, who was nearly flawless in Miami’s Game 6 victory at Boston, led the Heat with 31 points and 12 rebounds while Dwyane Wade added 23 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Chris Bosh also turned up big in his first significant action since straining an abdominal muscle in the team’s series opposite the Pacers. The big man finished the game with 19 points (8-of-10 field goals) and eight rebounds.
Oklahoma City, which cruised to a 4-0 series win over the defending champion Mavericks and a 4-1 win over the Lakers, fell into an 0-2 hole against the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, but they rebounded in a big way in the final four games of the series. The Thunder reeled off four straight wins against San Antonio, beating the top seeded Spurs by an average of 9.8 points per game.
The Thunder, who are 8-0 at home in the playoffs, are 2-2 in their last four meetings with the Heat. OKC did lose its last get together with James and company, though, falling 93-98 on April 4th at the AmericanAirlines Arena. The Thunder won the previous two meetings between the two clubs, thumping Miami 103-87 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on March 25th and 96-85 at the AmericanAirlines Arena in March of 2011.
NBA Odds Betting Trend: The Heat are 2-8 straight up and 3-7 against the spread in their last 10 games as a road dog against a Northwest opponent with a spread between 4 and 7.5 points.
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2012 NBA Finals Odds Miami Heat vs Oklahoma City Thunder Game 1: Provided by Bovada.lv
Miami Heat +5.5 (-110), Over 196 (-115), +190 (Moneyline)
Oklahoma City Thunder -5.5 (-110), Under 196 (-105), -230 (Moneyline)
