Point Spreads - NCAA, Final Four, College Basketball, NBA, MLB, World Series, NFL, College Football, BCS & Super Bowl Point Spreads

A monumental second half collapse by the Los Angeles Lakers was the storyline for Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night setting up what should be an exciting Game 5 with the Boston Celtics Sunday night. For the Lakers, down three games to one in the best of seven games series means there is no cushion. It’s win and play-on or lose and go home.The betting line at online sports betting giant  Sportsbook.com has the Lakers favored by a 7-point chalk ATS and -300 on the money line while the total is holding at 191. 

Lakers backers saw their hopes go down in flames in Game 4 after losing a 20 point second half lead to lose SU and blowing a 6 1/2- point ATS cover. The 187 points scored fell under the posted 191 total.

The Celtics easily disposed of the Lakers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals 98-88, and cashed its backers tickets as three-point home favorites. The combined 186-points went under the closing ‘total’ of 191.5. Kobe Bryant was the only Laker to score more than 20, while the “Big Three” of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett chipped in with 19, 22, and 24 respectively.

Game 2 saw the Celtics put forth fantastic efforts in both the second and third quarters to take an 83-61 lead in the fourth, but the Lakers swarmed defensively in the fourth quarter to claw to within two points in the final minutes. Paul Pierce hit a pair of huge free throws to allow the Celtics to secure the 108-102 home win and cover as one-point underdogs.

With their backs against the wall, the Lakers circled the wagons in Game 3 to grab a victory in the series and cut Boston’s lead to 2-1. It was a much lower scoring game than many expected as the 168-combined points was the lowest point total ever seen between these two franchises in the post-season. Phil Jackson did a tremendous job of getting into the refs heads about free throw disparity after Game 2 evidenced by the Lakers taking 12 more than Boston from the charity stripe.

Point-Spreads.com NBA Finals Pick: Celtics +7

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