The Boston Celtics will look to avoid dropping two in a row on their home court for the first time this post-season when they return to the parquet floor of the TD Banknorth Garden to take on the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4 of the NBA betting Finals; tip is set for 9:00 ET and the game can be seen live on ABC.
The Celtics are 3.5-point favorites in NBA Finals Game 4 odds and the total is 190.
Home court advantage has been passed about as a novelty act in the Finals thus far. The Los Angeles Lakers held up their end of the bargain in Game 1, but lost it in Game 2 when the Celtics handed them their first SU & NBA odds playoff defeat on their own floor.
However, HC Phil Jackson’s squad played like the defending champs they are in Game 3 and dominated the Celtics en route to handing them their second home playoff defeat of the second season. By winning 91-84 as short 2.5-point underdogs, the Lakers cashed as road underdogs in the 2010 NBA betting playoffs for the sixth straight time and took back home court advantage. They’re now 5-4 SU & ATS in their nine playoff road games to date.
The Lakers completely flipped the script from what occurred throughout play in Game 2 back in the Staples Center. This time around, they won the rebounding battle (43-35), turned it over only eight times compared to the Celtics ten, and converted 21 of their 24 overall free throw attempts (87.5%).
Though they got beaten up in the paint for the second straight game (50-38), the Lakers made up for it by outshooting the Celtics from the field 44.7 percent to 43.8 percent.
Derek Fisher had his biggest game of the series going off for 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field, and he nailed a huge shot in the closing minute that allowed the Lakers to pretty much seal the deal.
Though he was mostly absent in the 4th quarter, Kobe Bryant went on to lead both teams in scoring with 29 points on 29 overall shots. He made all eight of his free throws and his team was +10 throughout his 43+ minutes of game action.
Pau Gasol had another nice game with 13 points and 10 rebounds, but Andrew Bynum’s productivity tapered off quite a bit. After scoring 21 points in Game 2, the big man only accounted for nine points but did make his presence felt on the glass with 10 rebounds. He did however tweak the torn meniscus in his knee. If he’s not 100% the rest of the series, it will only help aid the Celtics dominance in the paint.
Lamar Odom finally introduced himself to the NBA Finals by coming off the bench with 12 points and five rebounds; his excelled production (+14) helped the Lakers bench almost match the Celtics (22-26).
The Boston Celtics finally got a huge offensive performance from Kevin Garnett who led all Celtics scorers with 25 points as he converted 69 percent of his 16 overall shots.
Save for Rajon Rondo scoring 11, Paul Pierce chipping in with 15, and Glen Davis tallying 12 points off the bench, the Celtics were severely lacking in the scoring department.
Most of that was due in large part to Ray Allen shockingly failing to convert any of the 13 shots he took after he broke the record for most three-pointers made in the NBA Finals in Game 2.
With the victory, Los Angeles only improved to 4-9 SU & 5-8 ATS as a road underdog of three points or less this season. However, they’re a $$$-making 5-2 ATS the L/7 times they played on one days rest and 5-1 SU & 4-2 ATS off an upset win as an underdog this basketball betting season.
As for Boston, it’s a perfect 3-0 SU & ATS when trailing in a playoff series in 2010 but just 7-9 SU & 7-8-1 ATS when revenging a home loss against an opponent.
The ‘under’ is now 3-1-1 ATS the L/5 meetings between these rivals after Game 3’s low scorer.
Mike Rose has been in the sports handicapping business for over a decade, and is a leading sports writer for some of the top sports betting news websites on the internet. To keep up with him on a daily basis, you can