The San Antonio Spurs struck first in their NBA Finals rematch against the Miami Heat with a 110-95 win in perhaps the hottest Game 1 in NBA history. The Spurs are now three wins away from completely avenging their painful loss to Miami last year.
However, there is still a long way to go in this series, and the analysts who selected Miami to three-peat in our Finals experts’ picks and predictions article can still be vindicated.
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[sc:NBAArticles ]Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs NBA Finals, Game 2 Betting Preview
Series Scores & Schedule
Game 1 – June 5, Miami 95 at San Antonio 110
Game 2 – June 5, 8:00 PM ET, Miami (+4.5) at San Antonio (-4.5); total 199.0 – view all NBA lines
Game 3 – June 10, 9:00 PM ET, San Antonio at Miami
Game 4 – June 12, 9:00 PM ET, San Antonio at Miami
Game 5 (if necessary) – June 15, 8:00 PM ET, Miami at San Antonio
Game 6 (if necessary) – June 17, 9:00 PM ET, San Antonio at Miami
Game 7 (if necessary) – June 20, 9:00 PM ET, Miami at San Antonio
Betting on the Miami Heat
Despite suffering cramps and sitting out the critical moments of Game 1 after the air conditioning at the AT+T Center broke, LeBron James still managed to put up 25 points. The Heat’s superstar is now averaging 26.8 points in his last 10 games. Meanwhile, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh added 19 and 18 points, respectively.
[sc:NBA240banner ]Aside from the steady contribution of the Big Three, another encouraging sign for the Heat heading into Game 2 is the scoring punch provided by their two veterans, Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen. Lewis chipped in 10 points in Game 1, the third-straight game he’s scored in double figures. He is now averaging 13.6 points in the last three games.
Miami’s pair of long-range shooting power forwards has been efficient from beyond the arc in recent games. Bosh and Lewis are shooting 17-of-35 in the Heat’s last three games for a stunning 48.5% accuracy. If the two continue to shoot the lights out from the three-point area, expect the Spurs’ to soften up their interior defense, thus allowing more inside incursions from James and Wade. In Game 1, the two combined for 22 of the Heat’s 38 points in the paint.
The over is 8-1-1 in Miami’s last 10 games overall. The Heat also haven’t lost back-to-back in their last 16 games.
Betting on the San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio showed it could take the heat in Game 1, breaking away from Miami in the fourth period on a silly 14-for-16 shooting in the frame to win the game and extend their winning streak at home to eight games. In addition, the Spurs are now 8-0 ATS in their last eight games at AT&T Center.
Tim Duncan (21 points, 10 rebounds) picked up where he left off in the series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Big Fundamental is now averaging 20.6 PPG in the last three games. Along with Tiago Splitter, Duncan highlighted the clear advantage of the Spurs inside, which they’ll continue to make full use throughout the series. The Spurs outscored the Heat in the shaded area 48-36 in Game 1.
Without a Serge Ibaka-like figure in the middle for Miami, Splitter was able to come through with 14 points, his highest since the first round of the Playoffs.
The Spurs’ near-flawless home record in these Playoffs came close to adding another blemish, though, as Miami took advantage of San Antonio’s slew of turnovers. San Antonio is averaging just 12.8 turnovers per game in these Playoffs, but had 23 in Game 1. A lot of them were unforced errors. Only when the Spurs took better care of the ball in the fourth period were they able to establish a good lead.
Limiting James production is going to be one of the keys in these series for the Spurs. While they can’t absolutely shut down the Heat’s superstar on offense, the Spurs can definitely avoid giving him easy scoring opportunities. In Game 1, James scored 10 points off Spurs’ turnovers. The Spurs can prevent those from happening, and they must in Game 2.
Writer’s Prediction
The Spurs reduce their turnovers significantly, and win Game 2 while covering -4.5.
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