San Antonio Spurs vs. Dallas Mavericks – Round 1 2014 NBA Playoffs Round 1, Game 5 – Betting Preview and Prediction

Manu Ginobili and Boris Diaw rescued the San Antonio Spurs from falling into a three game series hole in Game 4. With their confidence back after a tough road win at Dallas, can the Spurs take the series lead in Game 5, or will the Mavericks strike again on the road?

In our look at NBA experts’ picks coming into the first round, literally not a single one thought the Mavericks would win more than one game. With the series now a best-of-three, it’s a great time to open a betting account and claim a 50% deposit bonus at Top Bet.
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San Antonio Spurs vs. Dallas Mavericks Round 1, Game 5 Betting Preview

Series Schedule & Results

Game 1 – April 20, Dallas 85 San Antonio 90

Game 2 – April 23, Dallas 113 San Antonio 92

Game 3 – April 26, San Antonio 108 Dallas 109

Game 4 – April 28, San Antonio 93 Dallas 89

Game 5 – April 30, 7:00PM ET, Dallas (+6.5) at San Antonio (-6.5); total 198.5 – view all NBA lines

Game 6 – May 2, San Antonio at Dallas

Game 7 (if necessary) – May 4, Dallas at San Antonio

Betting on the San Antonio Spurs

Finally, the best scoring bench in the NBA showed its strength in Game 4, helping the San Antonio Spurs win, 93-89. The series now shifts to San Antonio for Game 5, where the Spurs are 7-1 SU in their last eight games against Dallas.

[sc:NBA240banner ]Manu Ginobili poured in 23 points off the bench, while Boris Diaw had his best game of the series, scoring 17 points and added four assists. Along with Patty Mills, who scored 10 points, the Spurs’ bench totaled 50 points as compared to the Mavs’ bench’s 30.

Despite the magnificent play of Ginobili, Diaw, and Mills, the Spurs would still prefer its starters to lead the way for the team in the next game. In Game 4, Tony Parker struggled mightily, scoring 10 points on 5-14 shooting and dishing out just three assists.

As one of the stalwarts of the team, Parker can’t have too many off nights, especially against a team like Dallas. The All-Star point guard was on the bench well through the fourth quarter for the second game in a row, coming on with just over three minutes left and drilling a key bucket.

Since April 14, the Spurs haven’t covered a single point spread. They are 0-6 ATS in their last six games overall.

Betting on the Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks can’t always rely on buzzer-beating baskets to win games against San Antonio. While Vince Carter stole a game from the Spurs with a buzzer-beating three in Game 3, in Game 4 Monta Ellis had a contested lay up chance to send the game to overtime and missed (barely).

Dallas was ice-cold in the first half of Game 4, hitting just 12 of its 41 shot attempts for a lowly percentage of 29.3%. In the second half, they fell behind by as large as 20 points in the third quarter but they regrouped and took the lead with just over three minutes left in regulation.

What’s alarming for the Mavericks is the amount of points they allow San Antonio to score in the paint. The Spurs have scored at least 46 points in the shaded area three times in the series. With a soft interior defense, Ginobili will continue to slash to the basket and big men like Tim Duncan and Diaw will impose their presence inside.

The Mavericks now hit the road again for Game 5 looking to regain the series lead. They are 8-1 ATS in their last nine games away from American Airlines Center. In addition, the Mavericks are scoring 97.7 PPG in their last five road games, which partly explains why the total has hit the under four times in the team’s last six road trips.

Writer’s Prediction

Despite losing Game 2, San Antonio remains a tough team to crack at home. Expect the Spurs to take the series lead in Game 6, beating Dallas by at least seven points to cover -6.5.
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