Clippers Carry Momentum Into Game 5

Home court hasn’t been any advantage so far for the Clippers (49-27 SU, 41-34-1 ATS) or Mavericks (44-32, 37-39), with the road team prevailing in the first four games of the series. However, LA has all the momentum going into Game 5 and opened as a 7-point favorite to take the series lead.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

Dallas won both games at Staples Center earlier in the series and beat the Clips by 51 points on December 27 in LA, but oddsmakers still opened the Mavericks as 7-point underdogs for Game 5. Los Angeles was favored by 6 and 7 points in Games 1 and 2, respectively.

Dallas News & Notes

The Mavericks hope two days’ rest between games will be all Luka Doncic needs to heal a sore neck that slowed the superstar guard in Game 4. After averaging 38 points in the first three games of the series, Doncic managed just 19 points on 9-for-24 shooting Sunday.

Doncic refused to use the cervical strain as an excuse for his off-night, but coach Rick Carlisle felt it was clearly an issue. “He couldn’t turn his neck to his left, and that’s difficult for a guy that relies on peripheral vision,” Carlisle told ESPN. “We’ve got to hope in the next couple of days that he can get better, hopefully substantially better.”

Doncic is expected to ice and get massages leading up to Game 5, and the Mavericks clearly need him at his best to pull off the upset. Doncic’s usage rate in this series is nearly twice as high as any other player on the roster, and the Mavs aren’t giving him much support either.

Tim Hardaway Jr., Dorian Finney-Smith, Kristaps Porzingis and Maxi Kleber combined to miss 12 of their 14 three-point attempts in Game 4 as Dallas failed to score more than 23 points in any quarter.

Los Angeles News & Notes

Since dropping the first two games of the series at home and then finding themselves in a 19-point hole in the first quarter of Game 3, the Clippers have outscored the Mavericks 213-159. A lot of the turnaround has been credited to the decision to use the smaller Nic Batum at center in place of Ivica Zubac, who started the first three games in the middle for LA.

Batum’s athleticism has helped the Clips close out better on perimeter shooters, harassing the Mavericks into a 5-for-30 performance from behind the arc in Game 4. At the other end of the court, LA’s smaller lineup has forced Dallas to spread its defense further from the basket, Sportsbook up more opportunities for the Clippers in the paint.

LA’s two biggest stars may have reaped the biggest rewards from the adjustment. Kawhi Leonard is shooting a sizzling 75 percent from the field in his last two games (24-for-32), averaging 32.5 points in those contests, while Paul George is averaging 24.5 points and has hit five of his 12 three-point attempts during that span.

Betting Pick: Clippers -7

The Mavericks have yet to find an answer to LA’s mid-series adjustments and Doncic’s sore neck isn’t helping their cause at all.