Article courtesy OddsShark (@OddsShark)
The Los Angeles Lakers are one win away from reaching the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010. They will try to earn that win on Saturday night when they take on the Denver Nuggets in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.
Los Angeles is a five-point favorite on the NBA odds in Orlando at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Denver closed as a six-point underdog in Game 4 and played to a push as the Lakers won 114-108.
Nuggets vs Lakers | OddsShark Matchup Report
Anthony Davis scored 34 points in 41 minutes of play, and LeBron James had 26 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in Los Angeles’ 114-108 victory. It was a tight game that saw the Lakers leading by only one point early in the fourth quarter, but Los Angeles held on to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals.
The Lakers have the highest-scoring offense out of any of the teams remaining in the postseason averaging 113.7 points per game.
The Lakers have held their opponents to under 110 points in six of their last eight postseason games. They are 6-0 SU and 4-1-1 ATS in those six games per the OddsShark NBA Database.
Jamal Murray had another outstanding game for the Nuggets offensively with 32 points and eight assists in Game 4. However, no other Denver player finished with more than 17 points, including Nikola Jokic who had only 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the loss. With Davis and James both consistently playing at their best this postseason, the Nuggets need Jokic and Murray to do the same if they hope to pull off another comeback.
Saturday night’s total is set at 214.5 points at online betting sites. The OVER is 6-1 in the last seven games between the Lakers and Nuggets.
Denver is 6-0 SU and ATS in elimination games this postseason, erasing 3-1 series deficits against both the Utah Jazz and the L.A. Clippers. The Lakers are 2-0 SU and 1-1 ATS in games with their opponents facing elimination, wrapping up the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers in five games each.
One of these streaks will have to come to an end with Denver’s playoff life on the line in Game 5.
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