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Spurs Look to Extend Winning Ways

San Antonio Cruising, Heat Struggling

The San Antonio Spurs are playing their best basketball of the season at just the right time. The Miami Heat just can’t seem to find any consistency a year after reaching the NBA Finals.

Now in ninth place in the Western Conference, San Antonio (31-29) has won three straight and sits just 2.5 games behind sixth-place Dallas for the final sure playoff berth in the loaded West. Miami (32-30) has dropped two straight and five of eight to fall into a tie for sixth place in the Eastern Conference, with Charlotte just 1½ games back and Indiana 2½ games behind the reigning conference champs.

San Antonio vs Miami NBA Pick
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images/AFP

Miami needs a confidence-boosting win, but San Antonio looks dangerous as a value-packed road underdog. The NBA Odds for this cross-conference clash are live in the BetUS Online Sportsbook right now.

San Antonio Spurs at Miami Heat

When: Wednesday, April 28, 2021, at 8:00 p.m. ET

Where: AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami, FL

TV: Bally Sports SunBally Sports SW-SA

Radio: Bally Sports Sun, Bally Sports SW-SA

NBA Odds

San Antonio +5

Miami -5

Moneyline

San Antonio +170

Miami -200

Total: 213½

Spurs Getting Contributions From Everyone

The Spurs are on a red-hot roll and are getting some great performances from a bunch of their players. San Antonio got past Washington 146-143 in an overtime shootout on Monday night as DeMar DeRozan scored a team-high 37 points to lead the way to victory.

Dejounte Murray added 25 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. Keldon Johnson had 21 points and Rudy Gay chipped in 17 for the Spurs, who have won three straight and five of six.

“It just shows you how talented the league is,” Murray said. “I wouldn’t say on our end or their end that anything (on offense) was easy.”

San Antonio averages 110.7 points  (20th) and allows 111.2 points per contest defensively (16th). The Spurs have gone an impressive 18-10 on the road this season.

Heat Struggling to Score – Again

Offense has been a problem in South Beach all season. Miami barely cracked the century mark in its 110-102 home loss against Chicago on Monday night. Jimmy Butler scored a team-high 33 points. Bam Adebayo added 23 and Trevor Ariza added 18 points, but Miami shot an ice-cold 7 of 36 from three-point distance.

“Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Nobody cares what any particular team is going through and everybody is going through something. We had guys out tonight, so it’s a heavier workload for Jimmy and Bam, for sure, and I thought we really competed. We weren’t able to get some key stops at key moments.”

Miami limits  the opposition to 107.1 points per contest defensively (seventh) but averages an uninspiring 106.3 points per game (27th). The Heat have gone 17-14 at home this season.

Spurs Value-Packed Pick

Miami might be playing at home, but San Antonio is playing some solid basketball by winning three straight and five of six while beating the likes of the Phoenix, Indiana, desperate New Orelans and previously red-hot Washington. Miami has looked lackluster at best in dropping two straight and five of eight. The Heat struggle to score and just don’t look as daunting as they did a year ago.

Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and, more importantly, veteran point guard Goran Dragic have all had uninspiring campaigns after torching their opponents last season. I believe San Antonio’s semi-desperate state is going to produce another high-level effort from the Spurs on Wednesday night.

The Heat are 2-5 against the spread in their last seven games against a team with a winning straight-up record, 7-18-1 ATS in their last 26 games following a straight-up loss and 1-5 ATS in their last six home games against a team with a winning road record.

On the flip side of the coin, the Spurs have gone an unblemished 4-0 ATS in their last four games as a road underdog, 5-1 ATS in their last six games and a stunning 23-9 ATS in their last 32 road games. San Antonio is 6-2 ATS in its last eight road dates against Miami and looks like the easy pick to cover a manageable spread on Wednesday night.

Pick: San Antonio Spurs +5

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