(USA TODAY Sports)`Indiana Pacers backers suffered one of the worst beats of the season Wednesday night against the Boston Celtics, while the Red Sox continue to give up late leads on the diamond. The Twins host the Blue Jays today at lunch and the Warriors try to avenge Monday’s embarrassing loss late tonight. Here’s a sports betting recap from Wednesday and a lookahead to Thursday
Bad Beat in Boston
Indiana Pacers kept it close nearly the entire game, but that didn’t stop Pacers backers from suffering one of the worst beats of the year.
By “kept it close early the entire game,” I mean the Pacers were up by two over the Boston Celtics (-7.5) with 90 seconds left. With 14 seconds remaining, they were down by one. A missed defensive assignment, an overthrown inbounds pass, then another blown defensive assignment plus an and-one later, the Pacers found themselves down 97-91. Indiana turned the ball over again only to put Gordon Hayward on the free-throw line. When all was said and done, the Pacers failed to score in the final two minutes and lost 99-91. Take a look for yourself:
With the line closing at Boston -8, at least the Bad Beat Gods spared some Pacers backers from their wrath.
Other NBA Notes: The Milwaukee Bucks (-15) covered their second game in a row against the Blake Griffin-less Detroit Pistons. The Pistons were up at halftime, but a dominating 35-17 third quarter by the Bucks would prove too much for the No. 8 seed. Giannis Antetokoumpa had 26 points, 3.5 points under his 29.5 points prop.
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The No. 4 Houston Rockets would take a 2-0 lead and cover the number in each game as well, beating the Utah Jazz 118-98. James Harden led the game in points (32), assists (10) and rebounds (13).
Will Warriors Avenge Monday’s Defeat?
The Warriors suffered an embarrassing 131-135 defeat in Game 2 after giving up a 31-point second half lead to the Los Angeles Clippers Monday.
Patrick Beverley continues to be a thorn in Kevin Durant’s side, holding the former MVP to 23 and 21 points in the first two games of the series. Durant averaged 26 points in the regular season and only scored 23 points or less in three of Golden State’s 21 playoff games throughout the 2018 postseason.
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I fully expect the Warriors (-8.5) and Durant to respond tonight even without center Demarcus Cousins, who is expected to miss the remainder of the playoffs with a torn groin.
It’s worth noting that the Warriors were one of the worst teams to bet on ATS during the regular season. I’m not sure how much that trend should be considered in the playoffs, especially for a Warriors team that is notorious for taking nights off in the regular season. With that said, I’m still more comfortable taking Golden State in the first or third quarter — the quarters where Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Durant see most minutes on the floor together. Breakfast Pick: 1Q Golden State -2.5
Prop Shop
Joel Embiid had 23 points and 10 rebounds Monday against the Brooklyn Nets, making it nine straight postseason double-doubles for the big man. You can’t bet on whether Embiid will get another double-double tonight, but you can get 100-1 odds, 1% implied probability, on an Embiid triple-double at FanDuel Sportsbook. Embiid has only reached 10 assists twice this season, putting up a triple-double in both games. That might sound bad, but that means Embiid had two triple-doubles out of 64 games, recording a triple-double in 3.12% of his games this season. Breakfast Pick: Joel Embiid Triple-Double 100-1 (FanDuel Sportsbook)
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Stat of the Day
The Boston Red Sox were up 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh before Ryan Braiser gave up a grand slam to Brett Gardner Wednesday. The Yankees closed the game out with a 5-3 win. After Wednesday’s loss, the Red Sox are 3-6 — the league’s worst — when leading by multiple runs.
Lunch Date on the Diamond: Twins Host Blue Jays
The Minnesota Twins bounced back Wednesday beating the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1. The Blue Jays took the first two games of the four-game series, and the Twins hope to split with a win today as the first pitch is scheduled for 1:10 pm ET.
The Twins need a similar showing from slugger Nelson Cruz who got on base three times and knocked in two RBIs during Wednesday’s victory.
Toronto will pitch right hander Clay Buchholz (1.50 ERA) who gave up just one run in six innings in his first start of the season against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Blue Jays picked up Buchholz as a free agent in the offseason, but he’s only pitched once due to a right hip injury that put him on the injured list heading into Opening Day.
Minnesota will match the Twins with right hander Michael Pineda (3.00 ERA). The Dominican pitcher already has two wins this season and has struck out 15 batters in as many innings pitched. Pineda is coming off Tommy John surgery after missing the entire 2018 season. The Twins have managed him conservatively in his first three starts, but Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said he’s comfortable throwing Pineda 90 to 100 pitches now.
Both pitchers should show up in this one, and the Twins will benefit with Pineda ready to throw a full load. Breakfast Pick: Under 8.5 Runs.
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Quick Links
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