NBA Playoff Preview: Mavericks vs. Spurs
SBG Global Opening Line: Spurs - 5.5 , Total 189
The Dallas Mavericks finally won a road game in the playoffs on Saturday, the first time they had done that in nine tries. They will try and make it two in a row on Monday night as they face the San Antonio Spurs in a TNT televised game. "The advantage we just gained, we don't want to give it right back," Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki said. "We've seen it happen before."
SBG Global reports that early NBA betting has the public taking Spurs at Home.
The Mavericks were able to dispatch of the Spurs 105-97 in Game 1 as Josh Howard scored 25 points. Winning two straight at San Antonio figures to be difficult considering the Spurs haven't lost two straight playoff games at home since 2002. "We very much understand the situation," Dallas head coach Carlisle said. "The sense of urgency for the Spurs is going to be very high."
The reason the Mavericks won Game 1 was their bench. It outscored the Spurs' bench 39-14. "The small lineup, big lineup wasn't the problem," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, "The boards were the problem, and Barea in the middle and Josh had a great game. And those things negated the pretty good job we did on Terry and Nowitzki. Overall, they played better."
San Antonio will need a better performance from Tony Parker if they are to win on Monday. Parker had 24 points in Game 1 but had just two field goals in the second half. "I don't know what's going on with those Game 1s but every time they're not starting well," Parker said. "There's no panic, just like if we won the game, you stay at the same level mentally. Now we're just going to go back and watch some film and come back stronger on Monday."
Here are the NBA betting stats for Monday's game. The Mavericks are 16-5 ATS in their last 21 playoff games as an underdog. The Mavericks are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 Conference Quarterfinals games. The Mavericks are 10-2 ATS in the last 12 meetings in San Antonio.
SBG Global Current Line: Spurs - 6.5 , Total 188.5
The Spurs are 18-5-2 ATS in their last 25 playoff games as a favorite. The Spurs are 2-9 ATS in their last 11 games as a home favorite. The Spurs are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 vs. the Southwest.
The Under is 10-3 in the Mavericks last 13 games as a road underdog. The Over is 6-1 in the Spurs last 7 games as a home favorite. The Over is 9-4-1 in the Spurs last 14 overall.
