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Dallas Mavericks vs Oklahoma City Thunder Game 5: Western Conference Playoffs – Second round
The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks are going into Game 5 with a tied score tonight at the Paycom Center.
How healthy are the Mavs?
The Dallas Mavericks turned things around when the series moved to Texas, but the last loss in Game 4 can cost them a lot. They built double-digit leads in the first quarter but fell short in the second half, and now the series is tied at 2-2. Once again, PJ Washington was the top scorer for the Mavs with 21 points, followed by Luka Doncic, who finished with 18.
Are the Thunder a real contender?
The Oklahoma City Thunder finished the regular season at the top of the Western Conference, becoming the youngest team to ever do that. The Thunder swept the New Orleans Pelicans in the opening playoff round and now have a real chance to reach the conference finals. The series is tied at two games apiece after the Thunder won 100-96 on the road in Dallas, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 34 points.
Betting Trends
Oklahoma City is 11-2 SU in their last 13 games overall, 8-1 SU in the last 9 home games and 4-1 SU in the last 5 home games against Dallas. The Thunder are 9-3 ATS in the last 12 games overall, 3-7 ATS in the last 10 games played in May and 2-5 ATS in the last 7 games played on Wednesday. They have played under the total point line in 5 of their last 6 games overall, 9 of the last 11 games against teams from the Western Conference and 4 of the last 5 games against teams from the Northwest Division. The Mavs are 6-3 SU in their last 9 games overall. They are 6-3 ATS in their last 9 games overall and 10-4 ATS in their last 14 games against teams from the Northwest Division. They have played under the total point line in 9 of their last 13 games overall, 10 of their last 14 games on the road and 14 of their last 20 games against teams from the Western Conference.
Prediction and Conclusion
It seemed like the Dallas Mavericks had full control of the series, but the Thunder managed to turn things around late in Game 4, and now the series is tied at two games apiece. The Thunder are very aggressive towards Luka Doncic, and they will have to keep that going tonight if they want to win. PJ Washington has been the key role player for the Mavs, and we expect Kyrie Irving to step up his game tonight. If one player has been through this, it is definitely Irving, and he will take the Mavs to at least cover the +4.5-point spread tonight.
