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Denver Nuggets at Oklahoma City Thunder
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 9:30 pm EST on TNT
Pointspread: Oklahoma City -6.5
Money Line: Nuggets +245 / Thunder -290
Over/Under: 205
This first round, best-of-seven Western Conference matchup shifts back to Oklahoma City Arena on Wednesday night for Game 5, where the Denver Nuggets will try and keep the series alive with a second-straight win over the Thunder. Game time is set for 9:30 p.m. (ET) and it will be broadcast nationally on TNT.
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Denver lives to fight another day after beating the Thunder 104-101 as a three-point home favorite this past Monday night. The total was also a ‘push’ at 205. This was the Nuggets’ first win over Oklahoma City in the month of April after dropping two regular season games earlier in the month. It also avoided a four-game sweep in the series, which would have been a major disappointment for a team that had played so well down the stretch.
Ty Lawson was the hero of Game 4 with a career playoff-high 27 points in a contest that remained extremely close through all four quarters. Danilo Gallinari, who led the Nuggets in scoring since coming over from New York in the Carmelo Anthony trade, added 18 points and J.R. Smith scored 15 points off the bench. Lawson is actually leading the team in scoring this series with 16.3 points a game, while Nene’ is the leading rebounder with an average of nine.
Denver is shooting 41.4 percent in this series and averaging 97.5 points a game which is far below their 47.5 percent shooting and league-high 107.5 points a game. They have also struggled under the boards with just 38 rebounds a game verse the Thunders’ 47.5.
Oklahoma City outlasted Denver in Game 1 as a six-point home favorite with a 107-103 win. It took control in Game 2 with a 106-89 victory as a 4 ½-point home favorite and built a 3-0 series lead with a 97-94 win this past Saturday as a five-point road underdog.
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have accounted for over 55 percent of Oklahoma City’s points in this series. Durant is averaging 30.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and four assists, while Westbrook is averaging 26.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 6.8 assists. Serge Ibaka has also come up big for the Thunder with 12.5 points and a team-high 11.8 rebounds a game.
Oklahoma City is averaging 102.8 points a game, which is the highest total of any playoff team. It is shooting 43.4 percent from the field and 36 percent from three-point range which are both slightly less than its regular season average. The Thunder are converting on 79.2 percent of their attempts from the free-throw line, which is third-best among the 16 teams in the postseason.
Denver is 3-2 ATS in its last five games road games and 4-2-1 ATS in its last seven games overall. The total has gone 3-4-3 in its last 10 games.
Oklahoma City is 2-3 against the spread in its last five home games and 6-3-1 ATS in its last 10 games overall.
Head-to-head, the Thunder have won six of the last eight games SU including the three wins in this series and are 4-1-1 ATS in the last six. The total has stayed ‘under’ in five of the last seven games, and is 1-2-1 in this series.
The odds makers have the OKC Thunder as a -6.5 point favorite with an over/under of 205.
Check out the latest NBA Basketball Playoff Odds here.
With the exception of Game 2, this series has been extremely tight and Wednesday’s game should be no different. The Thunder find a way to finally wrap this series up, but stick with Denver to cover with the 6 ½ points.
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Denver Nuggets Betting Trends:
- Denver is 15-5-2 ATS in its last 22 games
- Denver is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Denver’s last 14 games on the road
- Denver is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Oklahoma City Thunder Betting Trends:
- Oklahoma City is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Oklahoma City’s last 6 games at home
- Oklahoma City is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games at home
- Oklahoma City is 3-6-1 ATS in its last 10 games at home
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Denver Nuggets 2011 Playoff Schedule
*Game 6: Fri. April 29: Oklahoma City @ Denver – TBD
*Game 7: Sun. May 01: Denver @ Oklahoma City – TBD
* If necessary
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