Things are already weird between the Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks – so why not cap the bizarre series with a Mavs upset win? That’s the position Dallas (45-32 SU, 38-39 ATS) is in as it looks to prevail in Game 6 on Friday night, owning a 3-2 series lead over the Clippers (49-28 SU, 41-35-1 ATS) in the first series in 26 years to see the road team win each of the first five games.
- Date/Time: June 4, 9 p.m. ET
- Arena: American Airlines Center
- TV Coverage: ESPN
- Sportsbook Odds: Clippers -3 | O/U 216.5 (Line History)
- Clippers vs Mavericks Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The Clippers kicked off the betting cycle as 3-point favorites but are now more widely found at -2.5. The total has held steady at 216.5, with the OVER and UNDER both sitting at -110.
Los Angeles News & Notes
The Clippers looked to have rebounded nicely with a pair of wins in Dallas after looking completely flat en route to home losses in Games 1 and 2 – but they were their own worst enemies again Wednesday night. They lost the turnover battle 12-9 and looked lost during a back-breaking 25-5 Dallas run in the third quarter that effectively put the game away for the visitors.
How Tyronn Lue adjusts his starting lineup will be the big story going into Game 5. He opted to start Nicolas Batum at center in place of Ivica Zubac in Game 4 to great success – but going back to that tactic for Game 5 didn’t produce the same result. Of course, it would help to get better three-point shooting from Kawhi Leonard, who went 1-for-7 on Wednesday and finished with just 20 points.
Dallas News & Notes
Luka Doncic has made it clear that he will carry the Mavericks on his back for as long as it takes to get to Round 2. Doncic was a one-man show in Game 5, scoring 42 points while adding 14 assists and eight rebounds in 43 frenetic minutes. He also attempted a whopping 37 shots in the victory – just three fewer than the other four Dallas starters combined.
The Mavericks will almost certainly need to get secondary scorers more involved in Game 6 – starting with Kristaps Porzingis. The talented big man attempted just six shots Wednesday night, finishing with a meager eight points. The Mavs can only hope that showing was an outlier, with Porzingis having taken double-digit shot attempts in each of the first four games of the series.
Betting Pick: UNDER 216.5 (-110)
Things have tightened up considerably for both teams, who likely see a strong defensive effort as the best path to a W. Look for both sides to limit possessions and get in shooters’ faces more frequently in what should be a Game 6 grind.
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Buy Sports Picks Now- The Clippers are 2-5 SU and ATS in their last 7 games.
- The Mavericks are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 home games vs the Clippers.
- The UNDER is 7-2 in the past 9 head-to-head meetings.
