Clippers Spurs Spread at Miami -2: NBA Playoffs Game 2
Carrie Stroup here with your Clippers vs. Spurs spread for Game 2 of the 2012 NBA Playoffs. Check out Sportsbook here for all the latest Playoffs lines. Qualified customers receive up to $250 in FREE CASH.
Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: San Antonio -10.5 & 194
Opening Line & Total: Spurs -11 & 194
The Spurs showed no signs of rust on Tuesday night after an eight-day layoff, and now they will try to win their 16th straight game when they host the Clippers for Game 2 on Thursday.
San Antonio is 13-1-1 ATS during this amazing run, scoring more than 100 points in 14 of these 15 victories. The Spurs had little trouble extending this win streak on Tuesday, taking out the Clippers 108-92 with red-hot shooting. San Antonio connected on 49% of its field goals, 13-of-25 threes and 17-of-21 free throws. L.A. also shot pretty well at 45% FG and 9-of-19 threes, but was crushed on the boards 47-34 and was outscored in the paint 42-30. But two trends favor the Clippers to be much more competitive on Thursday. They are 8-0 ATS in road games revenging a same-season loss versus an opponent this season, and are 16-6 ATS (73%) versus very good teams (6.0+ PPG margin) in the past two seasons.
Weary Los Angeles will be playing for the seventh time in 13 days, with just one day of rest again. But the team has been strong in this scenario this season with a 26-15 record (22-17-2 ATS). The Clippers have also been resilient after an SU loss, posting a 21-8 SU mark (18-11 ATS) when coming off a defeat. But it’s never easy to win at AT&T Center, as San Antonio is now 31-5 (26-8-2 ATS) at home this season, outscoring these visitors by 12.6 PPG (106.0 to 93.4 PPG).
The Clippers’ two stars, PF Blake Griffin and PG Chris Paul, combined to score just 21 points in Game 1, 18 fewer than they averaged in the first-round series versus Memphis. Griffin was limited to 28 minutes because of his sprained knee and posted a game-worst minus-24 rating, while Paul made just 3-of-13 shots and failed to get to the free-throw line. SF Caron Butler scored 15 points, but managed just two rebounds and a minus-22 rating. PF Reggie Evans had 8.7 RPG in just 22.3 MPG in the first round, but played just eight minutes on Tuesday because of foul trouble, and grabbed just three boards. Starting SG Randy Foye (3 points, 0 assists in 21 minutes) and reserve G Mo Williams (3 points, 1 assist in 21 minutes) were both non-factors as well. But not all was bad on Tuesday. The Spurs had a difficult time slowing down backup PG Eric Bledsoe, who finished the game with 23 points (10-of-16 FG), five rebounds, four assists and three steals. That gives Bledsoe 15.0 PPG in his past three games after scoring just 3.8 PPG in his first five playoff games. SG Nick Young pitched in 13 points off the bench, making all three of his three-point tries. Young is now 13-of-22 (59.1%) from behind the arc in the playoffs, including 11-for-14 in road playoff games.
The Spurs won Game 1 easily despite PG Tony Parker shooting a woeful 1-of-9 from the floor. Parker did run the point effectively though with 11 assists and a +26 rating. San Antonio’s other two stars certainly did their part on the offensive end. PF Tim Duncan scored a game-high 26 points with 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocks, while SG Manu Ginobili poured in 22 points (6-of-13 FG), marking his highest-scoring output of the 2012 playoffs. The rest of the Spurs bench scored just 15 points, but the other three lesser-known starters all had big nights. Forwards Boris Diaw and Kawhi Leonard took advantage of an injured Griffin down low and combined for 23 points, 18 rebounds (eight offensive), six assists and six steals. Starting SG Daniel Green nearly doubled his playoff scoring average (8.5 PPG) with 15 points (6-of-11 FG), six rebounds and two blocks in 29 strong minutes.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
