Points Hard To Come By
Things flipped for total bettors in the NBA as the Unders went 5-2 on the closing number in a seven-game slate . Let’s take a look at the NBA betting outcomes from across the board.
The Minnesota Timberwolves secured an impressive 116-95 win over the Dallas Mavericks in the marquee matchup as they avenged their loss from earlier in the week.
The home side were strongly supported in the market, going from 1½ point favorites to -4.0 by tip-off. The Timberwolves led 26-22 at the end of the first quarter and never looked back after that with a comfortable wire-to-wire win.
“This team holds grudges,” said Karl-Anthony Towns after the game. “I like that.”
The game fell comfortably under the full game total of 228 points.
One game that didn’t struggle for points was in Atlanta as the hometown Hawks took care of business against the visiting Golden State Warriors.
The Hawks closed as 2½ point favorites and despite finding themselves down by as many as 11 points in the second quarter were able to open up an 18 point lead by the end of the third quarter before holding on for a 121-110 win.
A 46 point first quarter from the Warriors proved nothing more than an anomaly as the team again struggled to generate consistent offense in the absence of Steph Curry. In fact, the 78 points first quarter was the only reason this eventually cleared the closing total of 223½ points.
The Charlotte Hornets bounced back on their home floor by recording a 107-101 win as 4.0 point underdogs against the Utah Jazz.
The loss means the Jazz head West having lost three straight on their east coast road trip, which initially started with a win at New York before unraveling rather quickly. The Jazz seem to remain overvalued by the sportsbook markets and have yet to show themselves to be a team demanding of that level of respect on the road.
Both teams struggled to find consistency offensively, with the final score finishing 20 points under the full game total of 228 points.
The Miami Heat continue to spiral as they blew a 17-point lead at home to the New York Knicks.
A 38-15 final quarter in South Beach saw the Knicks run out 111-103 winners in a game that also saw the underdog cover (+9½) and full game stay Under the total (214½).
The late cap came from LA as the Clippers hosted the Philadelphia 76ers, who remain in the hunt for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
A dominant opening quarter saw the Sixers take a 35-19 lead into the first break and they remained in complete control from there on out as they comfortably covered the 5½ point spread – as predicted in our NBA betting preview.
Despite the comfortable win and cover this game was a true sweat for totals bettors, with the final 122-97 score only just clearing the closing number of 218½ points.
Four of the worst teams in the NBA were in action against each other as well, with the Washington Wizards emerging 100-97 winners as 3½ point underdogs at the Detroit Pistons while the Houston Rockets also secured a road win at the Portland Trail Blazers 125-106. Both games finished under their respective full game totals as well.
