Cleveland, Golden State, San Antonio, Washington and Utah are already assured of a postseason berth, but they know they have no time to relax and take it easy – even if betting odds are swinging in their favour.
And they have proven today that they are serious about making it deep when the playoffs arrive as they delighted NBA sports betting fans with statement wins against their rivals and opponents.
Orlando Magic 102-122
Online betting favourites Cleveland cruised to an easy victory over Orlando to share the top spot with the Boston Celtics. The Magic kept the game close up until the second quarter, but a 43-20 third quarter rally – powered by nine 3s – allowed the Cavs to pull away.
LeBron James finished with a triple-double, while Kevin Love and JR Smith led Cleveland’s barrage from three with five each.
Charlotte Hornets 111-118 Washington Wizards
Trailing by 12 at the end of the first half, the Wizards rode on a huge second half to turn the match around and keep the Hornets out of the playoff race. Washington had a sluggish start on offence, but John Wall and Bradley Beal came out ferocious on the third that changed the momentum of the game.
Defence also played a big part for the Wizards’ comeback as they forced the Hornets to commit 16 turnovers, with Wall even picking up six steals.
Brooklyn Nets 141-118 Philadelphia 76ers
The scoreline isn’t lying; the Nets scored 141 points at Wells Fargo Center. Philadelphia, indeed, paid the price of not playing Jahlil Okafor and Robert Covington as Brooklyn blitzed them in the first half, tying a franchise record for points in a half with 81 – shooting 70 percent from the field and 70.7 percent from three.
Eight players – led by Jeremy Lin and Brook Lopez – scored in double figures as the Nets’ reserves combined for 78 points.
Toronto Raptors 90-108 Indiana Pacers
Lance Stephenson answered Paul George’s “gut-check” call by giving everything he has … well, probably much more. Stephenson scored all of his 12 points in the final quarter to cap the Pacers’ comeback following a forgettable first 24 minutes of action. And although his stats might not show it, he provided the Pacers with grit and tenacity that has been lacking with them all season.
Chicago Bulls 91-100 New York Knicks
New York’s chances of winning this game aren’t that high, and it got worse with Kristaps Porzingis unable to play with back pain. This led Jeff Hornacek to play Carmelo Anthony for 37 minutes, and it paid off to everyone’s surprise. Anthony paced the Knicks’ balanced offence with 23 points as they took down the Bulls who shot only 38.1 percent from the field and 22.2 percent from deep.
Milwaukee Bucks 79-110 Oklahoma City Thunder
Milwaukee knew Russell Westbrook would be going for his record-tying 41st triple-double, but like any other team that tried; they weren’t able to do anything to stop it. Westbrook needed only 22 minutes to accomplish the feat as he finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists.
Enes Kanter, on the other hand, led the charge for the Thunder with 17 points, while Milwaukee struggled to find the bottom of the net with no player scoring 15 or above.
Denver Nuggets 134-131 New Orleans Pelicans
It was an all-around brilliance for the Nuggets as they needed to show all their big guns to escape with a narrow victory and keep their playoff hopes alive. New Orleans’ twin towers, as expected, did a lot of damage as they combined for 71 points, but Denver countered it through a total team effort, with seven players scoring in double digits, three of them with 21 or more points.
Memphis Grizzlies 89-95 San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs needed overtime to oust their likely first-round opponents in an entertaining but sometimes ugly affair at AT&T Center. Pau Gasol and Patty Mills made back-to-back three-pointers in the last two minutes of the extra period to give San Antonio some breathing space, and Kawhi Leonard sealed the deal with a late steal that erased Memphis’ hope for a comeback.
Leonard ended the game with 32 points and a season-high 12 rebounds, while Zach Randolph had 18 points and 16 rebounds for the Grizzlies.
Portland Trail Blazers 87-106 Utah Jazz
Damian Lillard was not on his usual self against the Jazz as he finished with only 16 points on a terrible 5-of-20 shooting from the field. Indeed, Lillard picked the wrong time to go cold as Gordon Hayward exploded for 30 to catapult his Jazz to a 19-point rout of the Blazers.
The absence of Jusuf Nurkic also crippled Portland on the frontcourt as Utah outrebounded them, 47-28.
Dallas Mavericks 87-98 Sacramento Kings
Fielding only two of their original starters, the Mavs are obviously playing just to give the young guns more experience. Sure enough, the Kings took advantage of this to get some boost of morale for their players and fans. Ben McLemore sparked the Kings with 22 markers while second-year big Willie Cauley-Stein and rookie Buddy Hield continue to impress.
Minnesota Timberwolves 107-121 Golden State Warriors
Besides Klay Thompson who bombarded the Wolves with seven three-pointers for his 41 points, the Warriors clearly lacked the usual pizzazz on the offence. Nevertheless, they still did enough on the defensive end – making nine steals and seven blocks – to limit the Wolves to just 42.7 percent shooting.
For the latest sports update, promotions and betting picks with SBOBET get social with our official Twitter, Google+, YouTube and Facebook accounts. Visit SBOBET and join us now. Start placing your bets today!
Click for more basketball betting options.
