NBA Finals Game 5 Props/Live Betting Tips
The 2023 NBA Finals could end on Monday night with the Denver Nuggets taking a 3-1 lead over the Miami Heat into Game 5 on their home court. Aside from a close loss in Game 2, the Nuggets have dominated the Heat. With three wins of 10+ points in four games, the writing is on the wall for the Nuggets to hoist the hardware this year.
This article is dedicated to the best player props and NBA live betting tips for Monday’s Game 5.
Nikola Jokic Over 29½ Points (-115)
Monday night is the night that Nikola Jokic can add another historic accomplishment to his resume with a win over the Heat. With five consecutive All-Star seasons and two MVPs before age 30, Jokic winning the NBA Finals immediately thrusts him into the conversation for the best current player in the world.
The Joker scored 23 points in Game 4, his lowest total of the NBA Finals, after shooting 42% from the field and behind the arc. The Nuggets managed to win anyway, but I don’t expect Jokic to let Denver’s role players do the heavy lifting in this elimination game.
Even after Game 4, Jokic is averaging 30.8 PPG in this series.
With a shot to win Denver’s first franchise title on their home court, I don’t see any way Jokic doesn’t score 30+ on Monday night, and this is my favorite NBA bet for this game.
Aaron Gordon Over 13½ Points (-110)
An unexpected guy spearheaded the Nuggets’ Game 4 win after Aaron Gordon took the offensive reins. After averaging 13 points in the first three games, Gordon exploded and led all scorers with 27 on Friday night.
Aaron Gordon took OVER in Game 4 🔥
27 PTS (11-15 FG)
7 REB
6 ASTLed the Nugs to victory 👏 pic.twitter.com/Zgw8FID4ru
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 10, 2023
The former NBA lottery pick had one of his best games when it mattered the most. It set Denver up perfectly to win Game 5, with Jokic and Jamal Murray getting to hand the wheel over to somebody else for a night.
Considering the NBA odds for Gordon’s scoring prop are a half-point above his average in the first three games, I see a lot of value here. Gordon’s shooting percentage earned him some extra looks in Game 5, and my best NBA Pick for him is to soar over his scoring total.
I believe that Gordon is an ideal guy to keep an eye on regarding NBA live betting on Game 5. As stated above, Gordon earned some extra looks after shooting 73% from the field and 75% from deep in Game 4.
If Gorden gets some good looks early in the game and continues to make shots at such a high rate, take a shot on his live lines to go over before he really starts to take over. You can win twice on both the pregame and live odds.
Jamal Murray Over 8½ Assists (+100)
I don’t want to say that the Nuggets couldn’t win the NBA Finals without Murray playing this well, but they certainly wouldn’t be dominating in the way they are.
With Gordon taking over the offense in Game 4, Murray took a back seat and scored just 15 points on 5-of-17 shooting. It wasn’t the type of performance we’ve come to expect from Murray this postseason from a scoring perspective. But Murray was dishing and totaled 12 assists in 43 minutes.
Murray now has double-digit assists in every game of this series, and I have no reason to expect that to change in Monday’s potential series-clinching game.
With the NBA lines for Murray’s assist total set relatively low at 8½, I see a ton of potential in betting in favor of him going over for the fifth straight game.
