Game 4 between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder takes place tonight in Los Angeles as the Lakers try an avoid a 3-1 hole. The game is scheduled for a 10:30 pm start time and it will be televised live on TNT. Currently the odds have Oklahoma City favored by 1 point with the total sitting at 188.5 points for the contest.
Free Analysis: The Los Angeles Lakers were seconds away from facing an insurmountable 3-0 deficit against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals. Now their 48 minutes away from tying the series in a rare back-to-back postseason contest. The Thunder suffered their first loss of this postseason after sweeping the defending NBA-champion Mavericks in the first round. Kevin Durant had 31 points in the setback but missed a potential tying three-pointer on the game's final possession. Russell Westbrook and James Harden both had 21 points for Oklahoma City. "It's hard to win on the road in the regular season and it's very difficult to win in the playoffs," Brooks said. "You have to play the game and give yourself a chance. How you do that is by execution and by competing every possession." The Thunder scored the final nine points of their 77-75 victory in Game 2, but it was the Lakers who made a late push Friday to overcome a five-point deficit with 2:55 to play. Bryant finished with 36 points on 9-of-25 shooting and made all 18 of his free throws, including a pair with 33.8 seconds left which put Los Angeles on top for good. Andrew Bynum had 15 points with 11 rebounds while Pau Gasol also pulled down 11 boards and scored 12 as Los Angeles overcame a 38.6 percent field-goal shooting performance by coming through at the line, as L.A. made an amazing 41-of-42 foul shots, the second-best performance in NBA playoff history for teams with more than 30 attempts. Dallas went 49 for 50 against San Antonio on May 19, 2003. The Lakers have won 14 consecutive playoff home games over the Thunder franchise since to a 108-107 loss to the then-Seattle SuperSonics on April 22, 1980. L.A. is still fighting an uphill battle here, however. The Lakers are just 2-17 all-time when falling behind 0-2 in a best-of-seven series. Meanwhile, OKC is younger, deeper and more athletic which should bode well in a back-to- back situation.
Free Pick: I like the Thunder in this one. I felt that if the Lakers were going to win one in this series it would be game 3 and they did just that. I do not expect them to win another one the rest of the year. The Thunder are a much deeper and younger team and that should bode well fro them in this rare playoff BB situation. I do not expect 50 FT;'s from the Lakers in this one and that should balance out this game a bit. Pretty much it's the only reason they won last night as they are still struggling to shoot, hitting just 38.6% of their shots last night. Oklahoma City is the better team and while their franchise has lost 14 straight playoff appearances in this building, I feel the time is right for them to break that streak here.
$25 of picks FREE! No Obligation - No Credit Card Required - Becoming a member is Fast and Free!
Betting Strategies: Handicapping NBA Playoffs
Host Marco D'Angelo and Pregame Pro Vegas Runner discuss their strategies about betting the NBA Playoffs and being successful.