On their way to an NBA Championship in 2006, the Miami Heat won four games in a row in two series and if they plan to repeat as champs in 2007 winning four straight is exactly what they must do starting with today’s game four of the NBA Playoffs first-round, best of seven series against the Chicago Bulls. Down three games to none, Miami must do what no team has ever done and that is rally to win four straight after being down 0-3. Only eight of the previous 79 teams in this situation have managed to even force a sixth game.
Ben Gordon scored 27 points ; Luol Deng added 24 points and 11 rebounds and Chicago used a 15-2 fourth-quarter run to seize control of a 104-96 victory over the Heat in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Friday night.
With the Bulls only needing one victory to advance to the second round of the NBA Playoffs, oddsmakers do not expect the series clinching win to come today as most offshore sportsbooks show the Heat as the favorite by a -3 ½ point chalk along with a 187 ½ point total. The Heat are also a slight favorite slight up with the price of a money line (ml) bet set at -165. The ML juice on a Bulls wager is +145.
The public betting trend on the side bet favors Chicago as 52 per cent of early wagering went on the Chicago club. The early betting trend on the ML has 51 per cent of the money going on the Heat while 81 per cent of the public think the total will go OVER 187.
In the three first round games played between the teams, the Bulls are 2-0-1 against the spread while the total has gone OVER in all three games.
"Sunday, we've got to just come out and play,'' Heat center Shaquille O'Neal said.” Our backs are definitely against the wall, but we can't give up now. It can be done. We just have to believe it.''
