{"id":22885,"date":"2014-05-20T18:09:38","date_gmt":"2014-05-20T18:09:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/?p=22885"},"modified":"2014-05-23T22:53:06","modified_gmt":"2014-05-23T22:53:06","slug":"oklahoma-city-thunder-vs-san-antonio-spurs-2014-nba-playoffs-round-3-game-2-may-21-2014-betting-preview-and-prediction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/oklahoma-city-thunder-vs-san-antonio-spurs-2014-nba-playoffs-round-3-game-2-may-21-2014-betting-preview-and-prediction.html","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma City Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs &#8211; 2014 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Finals, Game 2, May 21, 2014 &#8211; Betting Preview and Prediction"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The San Antonio Spurs wasted no time in stamping their authority over the shorthanded Thunder with a 122-105 win in Game 1 of the NBA&#8217;s Western Conference Finals.<\/p>\n<p>Before the terrible news of Serge Ibaka&#8217;s season-ending injury broke, we noted in our<a href=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/oklahoma-city-thunder-vs-san-antonio-spurs-2014-nba-playoffs-round-3-series-and-game-1-may-19-2014-betting-preview-and-prediction.html\" target=\"_blank\"> Thunder-Spurs series preview<\/a> that his health would be one of the keys to the series. After seeing what happened without their key post defender, do the Thunder still stand a chance of overcoming the Spurs?<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re like <a href=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/experts-picks-and-predictions-for-nba-conference-finals.html\" target=\"_blank\">some bold NBA experts <\/a>who believe Durant and company can still prevail in this series,\u00a0<a title=\"Join Top Bet sportsbook\" href=\"http:\/\/record.tbaffiliate.com\/_y8k7RB3Ll4xutv7iXV6HvmNd7ZgqdRLk\/7\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"broken_link\" rel=\"nofollow\">create your own betting account<\/a>\u00a0today and grab the juicy <a title=\"Bet on Thunder vs. Spurs Series\" href=\"http:\/\/record.tbaffiliate.com\/_y8k7RB3Ll4yYNevImT-MDGNd7ZgqdRLk\/4\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"broken_link\" rel=\"nofollow\">+380<\/a> odds on OKC to win the series.<\/p>\n[sc:NBAArticles ]\n<h2>Oklahoma City Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs Western Conference Finals, Game 2 Betting Preview<\/h2>\n<h3>Series Scores &amp; Schedule<\/h3>\n<p>Game 1 \u2013 May 19, Oklahoma City 105\u00a0at <strong>San Antonio 122<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Game 2 \u2013 May 21, 9:00PM ET, Oklahoma City (<strong>+6<\/strong>)\u00a0at San Antonio (<strong>-6<\/strong>); total <strong>211.0<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<strong><a title=\"Bet on Thunder vs. Spurs\" href=\"http:\/\/record.tbaffiliate.com\/_y8k7RB3Ll4yYNevImT-MDGNd7ZgqdRLk\/5\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"broken_link\" rel=\"nofollow\">view all NBA lines<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Game 3 \u2013 May 25, 8:30 PM ET, San Antonio at Oklahoma City<\/p>\n<p>Game 4 \u2013 May 27, 9:00 PM ET, San Antonio at Oklahoma City<\/p>\n<p>Game 5 (if necessary) \u2013 May 29, 9:00 PM ET, Oklahoma City at San Antonio<\/p>\n<p>Game 6 (if necessary) \u2013 May 31, 8:30 PM ET, San Antonio at Oklahoma City<\/p>\n<p>Game 7 (if necessary) \u2013 June 2, 9:00 PM ET, Oklahoma City at San Antonio<\/p>\n<h3>Betting on the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/h3>\n<p>The Thunder\u2019s worst fears were realized in Game 1 as Tim Duncan and the Spurs went to town inside in Game 1 without the imposing figure of Serge Ibaka to protect the paint. Ibaka\u2019s stand-ins, Nick Collison and Steven Adams, combined for just four points and five rebounds in 33 ineffectual minutes.<\/p>\n<p>[sc:NBA240banner ]Still, don\u2019t count the Thunder out just yet. Kevin Durant (28 points) and Russell Westbrook (25 points) still managed to put up decent production on the Spurs\u2019 defense, while Reggie Jackson, who averaged over 21 PPG on 68% shooting against the Spurs in the regular season, had 13 points, his best Game 1 outing of these playoffs. Those three will be heard from again in Game 2.<\/p>\n<p>Granted, the Thunder likely won\u2019t get another 16-point effort from the 39-year old Derek Fisher, but with Scott Brooks ready to embrace going small to increase the pace, the Thunder should still put up points even without their third leading scorer Ibaka. The total has gone over in the Thunder\u2019s last three road games vs. the Spurs.<\/p>\n<h3>Betting on the San Antonio Spurs<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22890\" alt=\"tim-duncan-spurs-thunder\" src=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/tim-duncan-spurs-thunder.jpg\" width=\"594\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/tim-duncan-spurs-thunder.jpg 594w, http:\/\/topbet.eu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/tim-duncan-spurs-thunder-250x147.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Leave it to Gregg Popovich to exploit the Thunder\u2019s glaring weakness inside. Without a rim protector like Ibaka to contend with, Popovich had his Spurs attacking the paint early and often, and it paid major dividends. San Antonio shot 31-for-43 in the restricted area (72%) for 66 points in the paint.<\/p>\n<p>Tim Duncan led the charge with 27 points on 11-for-19 shooting while Tony Parker added 14. Only one of their 17 total made field goals was beyond 15 feet. With Brooks showing in Game 1 that he\u2019d rather go small than match up with San Antonio&#8217;s bigs, that sizeable advantage in the paint should still be there for the Spurs in Game 2.<\/p>\n<p>Ibaka\u2019s absence definitely helped, but the Spurs didn\u2019t exactly need help with the way they\u2019re playing at home. San Antonio is now 5-0 SU and ATS in its last five home games, averaging a whopping 115 PPG on 52% shooting.<\/p>\n<h3>Writer\u2019s Prediction<\/h3>\n<p>Expect a similar paint-first approach from the Spurs and a similar high-scoring result in the process. Take the Spurs to cover <a title=\"Bet on Spurs vs. Thunder\" href=\"http:\/\/record.tbaffiliate.com\/_y8k7RB3Ll4yYNevImT-MDGNd7ZgqdRLk\/6\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"broken_link\" rel=\"nofollow\">-6<\/a> and take the game to go over 211.0 while you\u2019re at it.<\/p>\n[sc:NBA490banner ]\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"pvc_stats all \" data-element-id=\"22885\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-prefix=\"far\" data-icon=\"chart-bar\" role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" class=\"svg-inline--fa fa-chart-bar fa-w-16 fa-2x\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M396.8 352h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V108.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v230.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm-192 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V140.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v198.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm96 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V204.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v134.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zM496 400H48V80c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16H16C7.16 64 0 71.16 0 80v336c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h464c8.84 0 16-7.16 16-16v-16c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16zm-387.2-48h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8v-70.4c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v70.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8z\" class=\"\"><\/path><\/svg><\/i> &nbsp;2,378&nbsp;total views, &nbsp;1&nbsp;views today<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The San Antonio Spurs wasted no time in stamping their authority over the shorthanded Thunder with a 122-105 win in Game 1 of the NBA&#8217;s Western Conference Finals. Before the<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"pvc_stats all \" data-element-id=\"22885\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-prefix=\"far\" data-icon=\"chart-bar\" role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" class=\"svg-inline--fa fa-chart-bar fa-w-16 fa-2x\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M396.8 352h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V108.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v230.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm-192 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V140.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v198.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm96 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V204.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v134.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zM496 400H48V80c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16H16C7.16 64 0 71.16 0 80v336c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h464c8.84 0 16-7.16 16-16v-16c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16zm-387.2-48h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8v-70.4c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v70.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8z\" class=\"\"><\/path><\/svg><\/i> &nbsp;2,378&nbsp;total views, &nbsp;1&nbsp;views today<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":22887,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[393,42,460],"tags":[519,533,488,1503,1350],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v16.4 - 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