Article courtesy OddsShark (@OddsShark)
The Los Angeles Lakers are 1-1 straight up and 0-2 against the spread over their last two games since going 5-0 SU and ATS over their previous five games. The Lakers will try to get back to their dominant ways on Thursday night in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals.
Los Angeles is a six-point favorite on the NBA odds in Orlando at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Denver closed as a 7.5-point underdog in Game 2 and as a 6.5-point underdog in Game 3.
Lakers vs Nuggets | OddsShark Matchup Report
For the first time since losing their series opener to the Houston Rockets 112-97, the Lakers looked out of sync in Game 3 against Denver. LeBron James finished with a triple-double scoring 30 points with 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
Anthony Davis had only two rebounds to go along with 27 points, and the rest of the team combined to score just 51 points while not playing as well defensively as it had over its six-game winning streak leading into the game.
With back-to-back ATS losses to the Nuggets, the Lakers are now 3-6 ATS in their last nine games against Denver per the OddsShark NBA Database.
In what was essentially a must-win game for the Nuggets, Denver responded with a dominant performance. Jamal Murray had his best game of the series with 28 points and 12 assists, Nikola Jokic recorded a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Jerami Grant came up big with 26 points in 34 minutes of action.
The Nuggets led 93-75 at the half and cruised to an easy win to avoid a deadly 3-0 series hole.
Thursday night’s total is set at 214.5 points at sports betting sites. The OVER is 2-1 through the first three games of the Western Conference Finals.
Los Angeles has responded well to adversity this postseason, bouncing back from its losses to the Portland Trail Blazers and Rockets with four straight wins to win each of those series in five games. The Lakers would love to do the same here.
The Nuggets have proven to be a pesky team all postseason long, and locking up three straight chances to eliminate them with a 3-1 series lead would be ideal.
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