(USA TODAY Sports)`After beginning the night with three blowouts, Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers ended with fireworks. The Warriors host Game 5 versus the Clippers, while the Utah Jazz hope to slow down James Harden tonight. Before we get to that, the St. Louis Cardinals try to extend their winning streak with an afternoon game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Here’s a sports betting recap from Tuesday and a lookahead to Wednesday.
The Damian Lillard Show
The first three games of the night were blowouts as Toronto (-11), Philadelphia (-9) and Denver (-5.5) all beat their opponents by 18 points or more. The wins advanced Toronto and Philadelphia to the second round, where both teams will meet for a best-of-four series. The No. 2 seed Denver Nuggets aren’t past the first round yet, but they lead the San Antonio Spurs 3-2 after dropping their first two home games of the playoffs.
Though the start of the night wasn’t too exciting, fireworks were on display by the end of it all thanks to Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Trail Blazers (-4.5), who had been swept out of the first round in each of the last two years, were determined to flip the script against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Like most of the series, Lillard was the best player on the court Tuesday night. The Thunder didn’t have an answer for the silky guard who scored at will through the first two quarters. At the end of the half, Lillard had 34 points on 12-of-18 shooting and the Trail Blazers led 61-60.
Forced to take a breather in the fourth, the Trail Blazers were -6 without Lillard on the court. Oklahoma City found themselves up 108-100 with five minutes left, but their lead wouldn’t last long.
Down 115-113 with 40 on the clock, Lillard executed a quick two-for-one to tie the game with 32 seconds left.
Russell Westbrook, who had a 29-point triple-double, drove to the basket, missing a physical layup that left Westbrook on the ground and the ball in Lillard’s hands.
The Thunder put three-time All-Defensive player Paul George on the guard, but even with six inches on Lillard, the six-foot-nine George wasn’t able to stop Lillard’s 30-foot buzzer beater from sealing the Oklahoma City’s fate.
Since Kevin Durant left for the Golden State Warriors, the Thunder have yet to make it out of the first round of the playoffs. Oklahoma City is certainly disappointed, but Thunder backers (+4.5) at least made money Tuesday night despite the loss.
Next up for the Trail Blazers is the winner of the Nuggets and Spurs series. The Nuggets are -600 favorites at FanDuel Sportsbook to face Portland in the second round.
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Can Warriors Stay Hot in the First Quarter?
Speaking of Kevin Durant, the No. 1 seed Golden State Warriors bounced back with 27-point and 8-point wins after losing Game 2 to the Los Angeles Clippers. Clippers guard Patrick Beverley played a thorn in Durant’s side early, holding the former MVP to 23 and 21 points in the first two games of the series. Durant answered by dropping 38 points in Game 3 and 33 points in Game 4 while playing exceptional on the defensive end.
Tonight the Warriors are 14.5-point favorites (Over/Under 235). While Golden State is 2-2 ATS this series, the Warriors have been perfect against the first quarter spread. In total, the Warriors have outscored the Clippers by 46 points in the first quarter through four games of the series.
The main reason for this, a point that has been discussed over breakfast before, is that the first and third quarters are when Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Steph Curry are on the floor together the most.
Well, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. Breakfast Pick: 1Q Golden State -4.5.
Prop Shop: Over/Under James Harden 33.5 Points
James Harden’s points prop has fallen from 34.5 to 33.5 since Game 4. The Houston Rockets are 8-point home favorites tonight, and even in the games Houston has covered, the Under on Harden’s points has hit all four games.
As pointed out Monday, the Utah Jazz have dared the left-handed guard to go to his right by over playing Harden’s left hip. Breakfast picks/leans are 5-2 this week, so in another episode of ‘If It’s Not Broke, Don’t Fix It’, we’ll continue to hope Utah’s defensive scheme annoys the MVP candidate. Breakfast Pick: Under Harden 33.5 Points.
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Stat of the Day
Damian Lillard was 17-of-33 from the field and 10-of-18 from the arc Tuesday, making him the first player with 50 points and 10 3-pointers in a playoff game. Lillard averaged 33 points for the series, shooting 42 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from 3-point range.
Injury Report
Boston Red Sox’s starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to an elbow injury. The loss comes at a time when Boston needs all the help they can get, as their rotation has struggled through the first 24 games of the season.
After dropping both games to the Detroit Tigers Tuesday as heavy favorites, the Red Sox sit seven games back from the AL East leader Tampa Bay Rays. Only the Baltimore Orioles’ pitching staff has a worse ERA than Boston’s 5.61 ERA.
Eovaldi has two Tommy John operations in his career plus a surgery last year to remove loose bodies in the same elbow. While Eovaldi is just on the 10-day injure list for now, it’s unclear with more surgery will be needed for the right-handed pitcher going forward.
Temperature Meter: Heat Wave in St. Louis
At 1:10 pm ET, the St. Louis Cardinals try to sweep a three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cardinals enter the game winning four straight, two of those coming from wins over the New York Mets.
St. Louis squeaked out a 4-3 victory Tuesday, in large thanks to a tie-breaking home run from shortstop Paul DeJong who started the 2019 season off hot with five home runs and a .377 batting average.
The Brewers have struggled after beginning the season 12-6. Seven games later and Milwaukee is 13-12, two games back from St. Louis for the NL Central lead.
Brewers’ right-hander Jhoulys Chacin will start against Cardinals veteran Adam Wainwright. Chacin is 2-2 with a no-decision and a 5.92 ERA. Wainright is 1-2 with a 4.74 ERA after giving up four runs and eight hits in just three innings to the New York Mets.
Wainright should bounce back here to help the Cardinals extend their win streak. While the Cardinals are hot, the actual weather is not. The game-time temperature in St. Louis is supposed to be in the low 60s, which should provide modest aid to both pitchers. Breakfast Pick(s): St. Louis Cardinals -125; Under 9 Runs (BetStars)
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