In sports, it doesn’t get much better than a Game 7. And the NBA Playoffs will have two of them for SBOBET NBA fans to enjoy on Sunday as both the Blazers-Nuggets and 76ers-Raptors series go the distance.
After going down 2-1 early in the series, both the Raptors and Nuggets reclaimed home-court advantage, which they will now enjoy in this decisive final game.
The NBA 2019 betting odds will be against the Blazers and Sixers as they travel to enemy territory for Game 7. But both teams have already won on the road in their respective series and have the star power to pull off the potential upset.
Portland Trail Blazers @ Denver Nuggets (Series tied 3-3)
For the second straight series, the Nuggets have gone all the way to a Game 7. Denver couldn’t close out Portland in Game 6 as the Blazers won at home, 119-108.
Aside from Nikola Jokic (25 points, 10-15 FG, 12 rebounds eight assists), no other Nugget was particularly efficient offensively in Game 6. Jamal Murray had 24 points, but shot just 7-of-20 from the field.
Paul Millsap and Gary Harris combined to go just 8-of-26, while Will Barton and Malik Beasley were 3-of-16 off the bench. The Nuggets as a team shot a subpar 38 per cent from the floor.
On the other end, the Blazers had both Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum go for 30 points at home. And Rodney Hood (25 points) and Zach Collins (14 points, five blocks) both stepped up big off the Blazers’ bench.
Hood and Collins have come up with some impressive performances in this series. The Blazers have needed them, too, with Enes Kanter — 18 points in the last three games due to his shoulder injury — Mo Harkless, and Al-Farouq Aminu becoming non-factors offensively in recent games.
Unless those three can snap out of their slump, the Blazers will once again be counting on Hood and Collins to produce in Game 7.
However, role players tend to play better at home, which is why the advantage is with the Nuggets. The likes of Millsap, Harris, and Beasley are likely to bounce back from their rough shooting nights at home.
Meanwhile, the occasion could end up being too big for a youngster like Collins, who might not be able to deliver what the Blazers need from him.
But if there’s any hope for the Blazers, it’s that Damian Lillard is capable of coming up huge in the clutch to close out an opponent.
Dame had 50 points in the clinching game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5, including the game-winning buzzer-beater which is one of the top NBA 2019 highlights in this postseason.
Even if Lillard does go off, though, it may still not be enough to lead the Blazers to a Game 7 road win, which is very tough to get. However, he is certainly capable of at least keeping the Blazers close and in with a shout to win it late.
Betting Tip: Portland Trail Blazers +6.00 @ 1.89
Philadelphia 76ers @ Toronto Raptors (Series tied 3-3)
The 76ers looked dead and buried after they were trounced by 36 points in Game 5 in Toronto. But they were able to pick themselves up to win by 11 back home to force a decisive Game 7.
Joel Embiid, who has had a roller-coaster series due to several health issues, didn’t have the most spectacular game in Game 6 as he had 17 points on 5-of-14 shooting with 12 rebounds.
But the Sixers outscored the Raptors by an amazing 40 points in his 36 minutes, which is indicative of the incredible impact the big man had on both ends of the floor.
Jimmy Butler (25 points, six rebounds, eight assists) and Ben Simmons (21 points, eight rebounds, six assists) led the way offensively for the Sixers. They were able to make up for poor shooting nights from Tobias Harris and J.J. Redick, who shot a combined 10-of-28, including 5-of-18 on 3-pointers.
As for the Raptors, they simply couldn’t muster enough offence outside of Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam, who combined for 50 of their 101 points.
Kyle Lowry was limited to just 13 points, while Marc Gasol had a mere seven. The Raptors also went just 9-of-36 on 3-pointers, with Danny Green going 2-of-8.
Outside of Game 5, the Raptors just haven’t been able to score that well against the 76ers’ defence. However, it’s unlikely to be a high-scoring affair in Game 7, both teams prepared to clamp down defensively as well as possible nerves coming into play.
That type of game could end up benefitting the Raptors, who will be at home and have an elite isolation scorer in Leonard. Having said that, though, the Sixers should be able to stay relatively close to the Raptors right until the end.
Betting Tip: Philadelphia 76ers +7.00 @ 1.81
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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