Golden State, Cleveland Keep Rolling in NBA Conference Finals
Golden State Warriors will be looking for their first ATS win in this year’s Western Conference final when they battle the Houston Rockets on Saturday night as slim 1.5-point road favourites in NBA betting at Coral.
The Warriors grabbed a 2-0 lead in the series on Thursday night with a 99-98 win, but failed to cover as 10.5-point favourites for a second straight game, dropping them to a mediocre 5-7 ATS during this season’s NBA Playoffs. But, Golden State remains a strong series betting favourite at Coral, with odds of 1/66 to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in 39 years.
However, opponents Rockets have kept things close in the first two games of the series. A failed final play by James Harden proved to be the difference in Game 2, preventing Houston from handing Golden State just their second SU loss at home since late January.
Houston now returns home to Toyota Center on Saturday night in desperate need of a win. The Rockets have been strong on their home floor in recent weeks, going 13-3 SU in their last 16 home games, 11-5 ATS, including a a pair of lopsided victories over the Los Angeles Clippers while facing elimination in the Western semi-final.
While the Rockets were SU and ATS losers in both their home dates against Golden State during the regular season, they are a strong 10-3 SU in their last 13 at home against the Warriors, 9-4 ATS, and sport respectable 20/23 moneyline odds to pick up the win in Game 3 with Coral.
Atlanta Hawks @ Cleveland Cavaliers (-8.5)
The Atlanta Hawks need a win to avoid being pushed to the brink of elimination when they travel to Cleveland on Sunday as heavy 8.5-point underdogs in Game 3 of their NBA Eastern Conference final against the Cavaliers.
Hawks fell flat at home in the first two games of the series, averaging just 85.5 points per game while suffering a pair of outright losses as betting favourites, to fall behind in the series 2-0.
Atlanta has now averaged just 86.5 points per game in their last four contests, a far cry from the 102.1 PPG they averaged during the regular season, and have tumbled to 3-5 ATS in their last eight games.
A lack of point production at both ends of the court in the Hawks’ last four match-ups has resulted in the point total playing UNDER in each, forcing the point total in Game 3 down to just 190.0 in NBA betting with Coral.
However, the Hawks will need to rediscover their touch on Sunday’s game at Quicken Loans Arena, where the Cavs have averaged over 106 points per game in their last eight.
With their win in Game 2, Cleveland has now won five straight and owns a playoff record of 10-2. The Cavs are just 2-6 SU in their last home contests against Atlanta, covering as the favourite on just one occasion, but have moved to 1/66 series betting favourites at Coral, while the Hawks have fallen to 14/1.
Cavs’ dominance in their two wins in Atlanta has also buoyed their NBA Championship odds at Coral, which now sit at 2/1.
The Warriors remain heavy favourites at 2/5, while the Rockets trail at 28/1, and the Hawks continue their free-fall to 50/1 long-shots.
