NBA Saturday Betting Recap: An Under-ful Day
Totals too high across the board
On an eight-game NBA slate, it was a dominant day for Unders bettors as totals went 7-1 in their favor. Let’s take a look at all the NBA betting outcomes from across the board.
The Memphis Grizzlies continued to roll in impressive fashion as they led wire-to-wire against the visiting Milwaukee Bucks in a 127-102 win.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton both returned to the lineup for Milwaukee, which had a big impact on the markets. The Grizzlies went from 2½ point favorites to 1.0 point underdogs by tip-off, but market entry was largely irrelevant in a 25-point blowout for the home team.
“They just do a lot of things that are about winning basketball,” said Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer after the game. “They just keep playing no matter who’s in.”
Despite the offensive output from the Grizzlies the final score remained under the full game total of 233½ points.
The marquee game on the east coast saw the Brooklyn Nets travel to South Beach to take on the freefalling Miami Heat.
Erik Spoelstra wasn’t on the sidelines for this one and the Heat were unable to snap out of their funk as they went down 110-95 on their home floor as the race for the top seed in the East is officially blown open.
Our NBA betting preview correctly sided with the Nets to cover the 3½ point spread, which actually closed at 2½ after the Heat unexpectedly announced everyone as being available for the game.
Miami led 21-15 midway through the opening quarter but found themselves trailing 27-25 by the end of the opening frame. Things spiraled from there as the Nets offense simply proved too much for the Heat to deal with as the game progressed.
A comfortable road cover was also met with a full game Unders cashing on a closing total of 231½ points.
The Chicago Bulls picked up a hugely valuable 98-94 road win against the Cleveland Cavaliers as both teams look to avoid the play-in spots in the Eastern Conference.
Late market support for the Cavs saw this move from a PK to a 2½ point closing spread in favor of the home team on most sportsbook numbers, but Chicago came out aggressive and led from the opening tip. Their 19 point lead was cut to just one possession in the fourth quarter, but the road team was able to steady things down the stretch to secure a very vital win.
This game saw the biggest disparity in final score to closing total, with the outcome falling 31 points shy of the full game number.
The early tip-off saw the San Antonio Spurs record a vital 107-103 road win against the New Orleans Pelicans as both sides continue to push for a play-in spot in the west.
This was another game that fell comfortably under its full game total, with the final score being 20 points shy of the closing number.
The Toronto Raptors put a beatdown on the visiting Indiana Pacers as they secured a 131-91 win in a game that was delayed for 70 minutes due to a fire inside the arena.
Despite having to evacuate the arena the Raptors made light work either side of the interruption as they look to secure a top six seed in the crowded Eastern Conference standings.
The Oklahoma City Thunder again covered a double-digit spread on the road, with their 113-107 loss to the Denver Nuggets falling comfortably inside the 17-point spread.
The Houston Rockets made it back-to-back wins against the Portland Trail Blazers, with their 115-98 win making it two covers and two Unders in two nights between these sides.
The Sacramento Kings and Orlando Magic needed OT to secure the only Overs winner of the night, with the visiting Kings emerging 114-110 winners.
