No. 3 LOS ANGELES LAKERS at No. 6 DENVER NUGGETS (Lakers lead series 3-2)
The Nuggets stunned the Lakers in L.A. on Tuesday, and now they’ll try to win again on Thursday night, this time in Denver, to send this series to a seventh game.
Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: Denver -2 & 197
Opening Line & Total: Nuggets -1.5 & 199
Nuggets C JaVale McGee had a huge performance to help lead his team to the 102-99 victory in Game 5, scoring 21 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Despite making only 3-of-19 FG, Denver still outshot Los Angeles 46% FG to 39% FG, making 55% of its two-point tries, while the Lakers made just 39% of their shots from inside the arc. Denver hasn’t played its best game yet, and the Lakers have to be tired, playing in the thin air with just one day of rest after a hard-fought Game 5. They are just 14-26-1 ATS (35%) with one day of rest this season. L.A. star SG Kobe Bryant has averaged 40 minutes per game in this series, while only three Nuggets have even played 30 MPG. Bad news for the Lakers, as Bryant missed pregame shootaround with a stomach ailment. Also, the Lakers are 4-15 ATS off an upset loss as a home favorite over the past two seasons.
L.A. has been a poor road team, going 16-19 (12-22-1 ATS), but it did win Game 4 in Denver by a 92-88 score. The Lakers are shooting 43.3% FG for the series, including 28.6% on three-pointers. Although Lakers SG Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 43 points in Game 5, he took 32 shots to get his points. He’s scoring 31.2 PPG with 5.8 RPG and 4.6 APG in the series, but has made just 42.9% FG. C Andrew Bynum has put together a great offensive series with 18.0 PPG (60% FG) and 10.4 RPG, but hasn’t been the defensive force he was in Game 1 when he blocked 10 shots. He has a total of eight blocks in his past four games combined. PF Pau Gasol averaged 17.4 PPG during the regular season, but hasn’t scored more than 16 points in any game this series. But his numbers have been productive across the board in this series with 12.8 PPG (47% FG), 8.8 RPG, 4.6 APG and 2.4 BPG. PG Ramon Sessions made just 3-of-12 shots in Tuesday’s loss, but like Gasol, has also contributed in many facets with 12.8 PPG, 4.6 APG and 4.4 RPG during the series.
The Nuggets haven’t been a great home team this season at 21-14 SU (15-20 ATS), but they score 102.5 PPG (48% FG) at Pepsi Center. SG Arron Afflalo entered Tuesday making just 31% FG in the series, but he busted out for 19 points on 8-of-19 FG. And PG Andre Miller scored 24 points and dished out eight assists in just 28 minutes off the bench on Tuesday. Since going scoreless in Game 2, Miller is averaging 17.3 PPG and 5.7 APG over his past three contests. SF Danilo Gallinari (15.8 PPG in series) and PG Ty Lawson (15.4 PPG in series) have been the highest scorers for Denver, but are shooting just 38.9% FG and 44.4% FG, respectively. The duo has combined to make just 3-of-30 three-pointers. Rookie PF Kenneth Faried has been tough all series with 10.4 PPG (52% FG) and 9.8 RPG.
