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Carrie Stroup here with your Thunder Spurs spread for Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. Qualified new customers can receive up to $250 in FREE CASH when they join here today.
Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: San Antonio -5 & 202
Opening Line & Total: Spurs -5 & 203
The Thunder took care of business at home with two straight victories, but to keep the win streak intact for Monday’s Game 5, they will need to hand the Spurs their first home loss since April 11.
San Antonio has run off 11 straight wins (9-1-1 ATS) at AT&T Center, beating Oklahoma City 101-98 in Game 1 and 120-111 in Game 2. The Spurs are 16-2 (12-5-1 ATS) at home versus the Thunder since 2005, scoring 105.5 PPG during a current six-game home win streak against them. But it was a different story for Oklahoma City at home in Game 4 on Saturday, as it evened up the West Finals with a 109-103 victory. SF Kevin Durant scored 36 points with eight assists and six rebounds, while PF Serge Ibaka chipped in 26 points on a perfect 11-of-11 shooting night. Game 5 figures to be another exciting affair, but the edge goes to the Spurs. They are 13-6 ATS (68.4%) when giving 4-to-6 points this season, and since Gregg Popovich became San Antonio’s head coach, the team is 17-5 ATS (77%) at home after a game in which they allowed a shooting percentage of 55% or better.
San Antonio shot 50% from the floor and 48% from three-point range (11-of-23) in Game 4, but Oklahoma City shot a blistering 56.4% FG and outrebounded its opponent 41-31. Game 5 expects to be high-scoring again as the Thunder are putting up 101.5 PPG on 46.4% FG in the 2012 playoffs, while the Spurs are even more explosive at 102.2 PPG on 48.6% FG. Oklahoma City has the NBA’s third-best road record this season at 24-15, and is a strong 22-16-1 ATS away from home. San Antonio is 34-5 SU (28-9-2 ATS) at home this season, outscoring visitors by 12.4 PPG.
In addition to Ibaka’s 11-of-11 heroics on Saturday, C Kendrick Perkins also had his highest-scoring game since March 25, pumping in 15 points on 7-of-9 FG. Perkins also grabbed nine rebounds, a number he has surpassed just once this postseason. Durant’s consistency in the 2012 playoffs has been remarkable, as the Thunder star has scored at least 22 points in each game. He’s now averaging 29.0 PPG (53.4% FG), 6.8 RPG and 5.5 APG in the West Finals. The other Oklahoma City star, PG Russell Westbrook, scored 23.7 PPG in his first 11 playoff games, but has seen a sharp decline in his offense over the past two contests with a mere 17 points on 7-of-25 FG. His other numbers have remained strong though, with 14 assists, 11 rebounds and five steals in his team’s two victories. Sixth-man extraordinaire SG James Harden has scored in double-figures in each of his 13 playoff games, but he was a dismal 4-for-13 in Game 4. He still contributed greatly in other areas though, dishing out seven assists, pulling down seven rebounds and posting a game-high +12 rating in Saturday’s victory. SG Thabo Sefolosha came back down to earth after his enormous Game 3 (19 points, six rebounds), contributing a pedestrian six points and six rebounds in 22 minutes of in Game 4.
The Spurs had a balanced attack in Saturday’s loss, as eight players scored at least seven points. C Tim Duncan led the way with 21 points and eight rebounds, making 9-of-17 shots, which was quite an improvement from his 7-for-26 FG clip in Games 2 and 3. PG Tony Parker had his worst game of the series on Saturday with a meager 12 points (5-of-15 FG) and four assists. But Parker has been outstanding at home in the 2012 playoffs with 21.2 PPG (51% FG) and 7.8 APG. In his last game at AT&T Center in Game 2, Parker scored 34 points on 16-of-21 FG, and also dished out eight assists. SG Manu Ginobili has also been much more effective at home in this series (23.0 PPG on 60% FG) than on the road (10.5 PPG on 42% FG). SF Kawhi Leonard continued his roller coaster series that has seen him score 7, 18, 2 and 17 points in the four games. In addition to his 7-for-8 shooting in Game 4, Leonard also grabbed nine rebounds. The other two double-digit scorers on Saturday were starting PF Boris Diaw (12 points, seven rebounds) and reserve SG Stephen Jackson (11 points on 4-of-6 FG). After scoring just 4.0 PPG (2-of-6 FG) in Games 1-2, Jackson now has 13.5 PPG on 10-of-13 FG (77%) and 6-of-8 threes in his past two games.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
