We gotta series now people! The NBA betting public saw the final basketball betting match-up of the season turn into a best of three throw down after the Boston Celtics defended their home court and handed the Los Angeles Lakers a 96-89 defeat in Game 4.
The Celtics are 3-point favorites in NBA Finals Game 5 odds and the over/under is 187.5.
Thursday night’s result sets up a pivotal Game 5 match-up that will be televised live on ABC at 8:00 ET.
After LA stormed the Celtics parquet court and quieted the Garden crowd in Game 3, many called Thursday night’s NBA betting battle a must win for the home team.
Though the starters failed to make much of an impact overall, they got a huge boost from Glen “Big Baby” Davis and Nate Robinson off the bench to halt the Lakers playoffs road winning streak at two.
The duo combined for 30 overall points and was the main reason Boston was able to overtake the Lakers on the scoreboard early in the 4th quarter.
Those two along with Rasheed Wallace, and Tony and Ray Allen caught fire early in the 4th quarter to steal the game’s momentum to allow the Celtics to cruise to the home win and NBA odds cover.
A look at the box score tells NBA bettors real quickly why this one played out the way it did. Though it shot just 44.6 percent from the field with Paul Pierce leading all Celtics scorers with 19, Boston dominated the Lakers where it matters most – in the paint and on the glass.
After losing the battle of the boards 43-35 in Game 3, the Boston Celtics flipped the script in Game 4 by outboarding the Lakers 41-34; Kendrick Perkins led the team with seven caroms with every starter reeling in at least five.
The absence of Andrew Bynum also played a crucial role as his big frame was only on the court a shade over 12 minutes due to his injured knee flaring up. Look for Boston to continue winning the rebounding battle if the big man is either benched or continues to play at less than 100 percent.
The other telling stat won by the Celtics was points in the paint. Though they outscored LA 50-38 in that department in Game 3, it wasn’t enough. So, Boston clamped down defensively and held Pau Gasol to just 21 points overall; nine of those points came from the charity stripe.
Kobe Bryant put another good showing forth in Beantown collecting 33 points while nailing six 3’s on 10-of-22 shooting. He also pulled in six boards, but he had seven overall turnovers with a couple of them occurring in crunch time.
Lamer Odom followed up his best effort of the series in Game 3 with an even better one Thursday night with 10 points and seven rebounds. Unfortunately for HC Phil Jackson’s squad, he rounded out the three double-digit scorers.
This season series is tied at 3-3 both SU & against the NBA lines with the ‘under’ cashing in four times (4-1-1 ATS).
The Celtics will take to their home court confidently in Game 5 knowing they’re a $$$-making 11-4-1 ATS the L/16 overall meetings with LA and 5-2-1 ATS the L/8 times they hosted them in the “Garden.”
The Los Angeles Lakers stands a poor 4-10 SU & 5-9 ATS as a road underdog of three points or less this season, while Boston has covered each of its L/5 games on two-days rest.
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