The Western Conference semifinals series between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Denver Nuggets have not disappointed so far. It’s been a gritty battle between two teams aching for more recognition and eyeing status as a legitimate threat to win the NBA title. This Tuesday, one of these teams will come closer to their dreams of making the conference finals. Who will pocket the win in an extremely crucial Game 5 matchup? Going into the meeting, the sportsbook favors the Nuggets by 4.5-points. Click here for NBA Futures updates.
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Betting Preview for the Portland Trail Blazers vs. Denver Nuggets NBA Playoff Game on May 7, 2019
Where: Pepsi Center, Denver
When: Tuesday, May 7, 2019, 10:30 PM ET
Line: Portland Trail Blazers (+4.5) vs. Denver Nuggets (-4.5) – view all NBA lines
Series: Series tied, 2-2.
TV Broadcast: TNT
Betting on the Portland Trail Blazers (53-29, Regular Season)
C.J. McCollum and Damian Lillard were sensational as always, but they simply weren’t enough to carry Portland to a victory on Sunday, losing in Game 5 to the Nuggets, 116-112. McCollum shot 10-for-20 and finished with a team-high 29 points, while his backcourt partner in Lillard had 28 points on 9-for-22 shooting. It’s been long established that opposing defenses will have a hard time silencing either of the two spitfire guards, let alone both of them, but the Blazers need the pair’s supporting cast to step up in order to win nonetheless. Seth Curry answered the ball in Game 4 with 16 points off the bench on the strength of a 4-for-6 shooting from deep, but Enes Kanter, Rodney Hood, and Mo Harkless combined for just 16 points. Hood finally returned to Earth. After scoring at least 15 points in the first three games of the series, the lefty sniper only had seven points in Game 4. Kanter is playing through what seems to be a worsening shoulder injury, so others will have to chip in like big man Zach Collins and Evan Turner, who has been a massive disappointment for the Blazers.
The Blazers have covered the spread 22 times in their last 32 games following just a day of rest.
Betting on the Denver Nuggets (54-28 Regular Season)
Nikola Jokic broke a mic during the postgame conference on Tuesday, but he ruined more than just a piece of voice amplifier, as he wreaked havoc inside the court in the win over the Blazers. Jokic finished with another triple-double, posting 21, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists in 39 minutes. It was his second triple-double in a row after racking up 33 points, 18 rebounds, and 14 assists, albeit in a loss in Game 3. With Kanter hurt and Collins lacking much of the skill needed to contain Jokic, the Serbian big man should continue to dominate on the floor, together with Paul Millsap who had 21 points. Jamal Murray, meanwhile, is the biggest story of the day for Denver in Game 4, as he led his team with 34 points on 10-for-20 shooting. Murray’s gaining more confidence as the playoffs progress, and his ability to negate the production of at least one of the Blazers’ dynamic duo of McCollum and Lillard has been big for Denver. Murray is averaging 26.5 points, thus far in the series.
The under is 14-4 in Denver’s last 18 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Denver wins, 116-112.
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