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Spurs try to eliminate Thunder Saturday
By: Freddy Wander - StatFox
Published: 5/31/2014  at  5:42:00 AM
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OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (69-31)

at SAN ANTONIO SPURS (73-26)

NBA Playoffs – Western Conference Finals
Game 6 – Spurs lead series 3-2
Tip-off: Saturday, 8:35 p.m. ET
Line: Oklahoma City -3.5, Total: 207

The Spurs look to punch their ticket to the NBA Finals with a win on Saturday night against the Thunder.

Here is the BetDSI Sportsbook breakdown on Game 6:

This series has been dominated by the home team with SU and ATS wins in each of the first five games going to the host. Game 5 proved no different as the Spurs took the victory by a score of 117-89 as five-point favorites. They shot 51.3% from the field in the win and have now hit 50% or more of their field goals in each of their three home games. The contest got out of hand in the second half, and after the Spurs took a 10-point lead into halftime, they came out and outscored Oklahoma City by 18 in the final two quarters. Tim Duncan lead San Antonio with a team-high 22 points as Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook just did not have the firepower to carry the team themselves, netting a combined 46 points in the loss. One area that the Spurs dominated was on the boards, out-rebounding the Thunder 48-35 while having six different players with 4+ rebounds. Heading back to Oklahoma City should be interesting as the Spurs are one of the better road teams this year, going 32-16 SU (26-22 ATS) in away games while the Thunder are a solid 40-10 SU (28-21 ATS) at home. Going back three seasons, Oklahoma City holds a 13-9 SU (14-7 ATS) advantage when these two teams face off, and has won nine straight games SU and ATS when playing at home. In their two wins at home in this series, OKC has held the Spurs under 40% shooting in each game while forcing 14.5 turnovers per contest. Bettors should take notice that San Antonio is 12-2 ATS in road games after failing to cover two of their last three games ATS this season. On the other hand, the Thunder are 25-13 ATS (65.8%) in home games revenging a loss versus an opponent over the past two seasons. Neither team brings any significant injuries into this game.

San Antonio was one of the more efficient teams all season long and is hitting 49% of their field goal attempts in this postseason. They cannot get anything going in Oklahoma City though, making just 69-of-174 shots (39.7%) in the two contests of this series. PF Tim Duncan (17.6 PPG, 9.0 RPG in series) had a big double-double (22 points, 12 rebounds) in Game 5 but averaged just 12.5 PPG (40% FG) in the two games so far in OKC. One thing that has been missing from his game in these conference finals have been blocks as he has just four in the series after swatting away 1.9 BPG in the regular season. PG Tony Parker (14.2 PPG, 5.8 APG in series) had just twelve points in Thursday’s victory and has played more than 30 minutes just once in this series. He also struggled in the team’s two losses, netting just 11.5 PPG on 11-of-24 shooting. SF Kawhi Leonard (10.8 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.6 SPG in series) had his highest rebound total (7) of the series in Game 5 while adding 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting. He has not been aggressive against the Thunder, taking just 9.4 shots per game and hitting them at a 43% clip. SG Manu Ginobili (15.2 PPG, 3.4 APG, 1.0 SPG in series) had another solid game (19 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds) on Thursday and has been very efficient with his shot selection in this series, making 57% of his field goals, 61% of this three-pointers and is perfect (10-for-10) from the charity stripe.

Oklahoma City has been a great offense during these playoffs, scoring 102.2 PPG (45% FG), but have let the Spurs really slow them down to the tune of 96.4 PPG (45% FG) in this series. There has been a stark contrast between home and away though, as they are putting up 105.5 PPG in their two home games and just 90.3 PPG in San Antonio. SF Kevin Durant (24.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.2 SPG in series) had 25 points on 11-of-21 shooting in the Game 5 loss while taking just four shots from the free throw line; making just one. He has scored more than 30 points just once over the five games of this series after doing so in 8-of-13 previous playoff contests this year. PG Russell Westbrook (25.4 PPG, 7.2 APG, 5.4 RPG, 2.6 SPG in series) had 21 points to go along with seven assists and three steals on Thursday while taking a postseason low 12 shots. As usual, he was able to get to the free-throw line plenty, making 7-of-9 shots from there and is now 35-for-39 (90%) in the series. PF Serge Ibaka (10.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 3.0 BPG in series) had just six points and two rebounds while adding two blocks in the loss on Thursday. He has seen his points and blocks decrease in each of the three games he’s played in this series. PG Reggie Jackson (10.0 PPG, 3.0 APG, 3.0 RPG in series) put up double-digit points (11) for the third time in this series in Game 5 and has been on the court for 30+ minutes in two of the past three contests.


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