Spurs vs. Thunder Game 5 NBA playoffs betting tips & exotics

Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs, Wednesday, May 11, 2016, AT&T Centre, San Antonio, Texas

Season record:
Oklahoma City Thunder: 55-27 (23-18 away)
San Antonio Spurs: 67-15 (40-1 at home)

Series score:
Western Conference Semi Final tied at 2-2

Playoff results:
Oklahoma City Thunder: Beat Dallas 4-1 in the first round
San Antonio Spurs: Beat Memphis 4-0 in the first round

Series odds:
Oklahoma City Thunder: $3.50 with Sportsbet.com.au
San Antonio Spurs: $1.32 with Sportsbet.com.au

Head-to-head odds:
Oklahoma City Thunder: $3.40 with Sportsbet.com.au
San Antonio Spurs: $1.40 with Sportsbet.com.au

Line betting:
Oklahoma City Thunder: +6.5 ($1.91 with Sportsbet.com.au)
San Antonio Spurs: -6.5 ($1.91 with Sportsbet.com.au)

LADIES and gentlemen, we have a series.

The dominant San Antonio Spurs were expected to cruise through to a date with the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.

But, after slaughtering the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round, the Oklahoma City Thunder and their superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have become a rather large stumbling block.

In a topsy turvy series, the two teams have traded blows, each winning one and losing one on their home floor.

The series now shifts back to San Antonio, where the Thunder became just the second team to beat the Spurs on their home floor in game two.

It took some horrible decision making from the referees, but they got the job done by a point and will know that the result can be replicated.

In game four, the Slim Reaper Durant was simply on fire, shredding the Spurs for 41 points in the 111-97 belting.

Teammate Russell Westbrook played the point guard roll to a tee, trading his usual junk shot selection to turn provider, dealing out 15 assists to go with his 14 points – although still on a woeful five of 18 shooting.

Big Kiwi Steven Adams picked up the slack for the Thunder, notching a 16 point, 11 rebound double double, while Dion Waiters might have played his best game for the club, producing 17 off the bench.

Adams, a crowd favourite with Aussie fans because of his descent and close ties, has been ordained the Thunder’s third best player by ESPN analyst Zach Lowe.

“Oklahoma City’s collective size and speed is unnerving the Spurs’ beautiful game,” Lowe wrote.

“That’s where Adams has been living for an astonishing 38 minutes per game over the past three battles, a full 13 minutes more than he logged on average during the season.

“Adams wouldn’t be able to play that much had he not found ways to make himself an offensive threat, and little skills within skills that mesh snugly on a team with two uber stars who are going to have the ball almost all the time.

“Adams has been the Thunder’s third-best player in this series, so good Donovan feels emboldened to stretch the gigantic (Enes) Kanter-Adams look over extended minutes.

“The two behemoths have shared the floor for 36 minutes total over the past three games, and the Thunder have blitzed San Antonio by 12 points over that span.”

Despite their considerable talent and firepower, the Spurs simply did not have the answers.

Tony Parker, with 22, Kawhi Leonard, 21, and LaMarcus Aldridge, 20, were productive, but the support wasn’t there, fellow starters Danny Green and Tim Duncan both going scoreless.

It was the first time in his career that Duncan has gone without making a bucket in a playoff game.

The Thunder gave the Spurs a taste of their own medicine, producing suffocating defence usually attributed to San Antonio, and it could have been far worse, with the Spurs making 15 of their 16 tries at the charity stripe.

Game predictions

Game winner: San Antonio Spurs ($1.40 with Sportsbet.com.au)

Line: San Antonio Spurs -6.5 ($1.91 with Sportsbet.com.au)

Total match score: Over 200 points ($1.91 with Sportsbet.com.au)

If the Spurs lose here, they can almost kiss the series goodbye.

Leonard, the heir apparent to Duncan as the club’s leader, went scoreless in the final term when he was needed most and they simply need more out of him if they are going to get the job done. Fortunately, the AT&T Centre is a rather happy hunting ground for the Spurs. They have only lost one regular season game and one playoff game across the entire 2015-16 season and you can expect them to come out breathing fire after a sub standard performance in game four that saw them go home with the series tied and still needing two more wins.

The key for the Thunder, as always, is Durant. If he goes off, they rarely lose and it appears he has his groove back after struggling earlier in the series. Westbrook is arguably just as important, but for different reasons. So supremely talented and athletic, he can explode at the drop of the hat, but his ability to make good decisions at clutch times is what hurts him. Deferring to Durant worked in game four and perhaps he should think about doing the same in game five.

One man to watch is Aldridge. The silky tower of power’s inside outside game has been unstoppable, particularly at home, where he kicked off the series by dropping 38 in game one and 41 in game two. If he continues to be a monster, it will go a long way to the Spurs winnings.

It has been a funny series, with two blow outs and two games being decided by narrow margins.

We think the Spurs might take this one out and do it easily on their home deck, so we’re backing the -6.5 point line. Two games have exceeded 200 points and two have fallen below it, but the blow out games tend to be higher scoring and since we’re tipping a comfortable win for the Spurs, they should have enough offence to tip the scales on the overs.