Basketball Playoffs Betting – Nowitzki Dominates Game 1. The Dallas Mavericks won Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder and covered the basketball playoffs betting odds. The main reason they did was because Dirk Nowitzki was unstoppable. The Dallas star forward had 48 points on 12 of 15 shooting and 24 for 24 from the free throw line. Dallas is favored in NBA basketball playoffs betting at Sbg global in Game 2 on Thursday.
NBA Playoff Record 24 Straight Free Throws
Dirk Nowitzki made an NBA playoff record 24 straight free throws as part of his 48 points on Tuesday night. Nowitzki made 12 of his 15 shots from the field but it was from the line where he did much of his damage. The 48 points are the most anyone has scored in the playoffs this season. Nowitzki added six rebounds, four assists and four blocks. The 15 field goal attempts by Nowitzki were the second lowest amount in NBA playoff history by a player who scored 40 points or more. The 24 straight free throws without a miss were three better than Paul Pierce’s 21 straight in 2003.
Seven in Row for Dallas
The Mavericks have now won a franchise-record seven straight playoff games. In addition to getting 48 points from Nowitzki, the Mavericks got 24 points from Jason Terry and 21 from J.J. Barea. Dallas is now 6-0 at home in the playoffs.
Durant’s 40 Not Enough
Kevin Durant had 40 points in Game 1 and was almost as unstoppable as Nowitzki but he didn’t get the type of support from his team that Nowitzki got. Russell Westbrook was terrible in Game 1 as he shot the ball poorly, going 3 for 15. We said it during the last series that for Oklahoma City to win in NBA basketball playoffs betting they need Westbrook to pass the ball more than he shoots it. Durant’s 40 points on Tuesday in the loss was the third time in NBA history that two players on opposing teams each had 40 points or more.
If the Oklahoma City Thunder is to win Game 2 they need a better performance from Westbrook and they need to find someone to guard Nowitzki. The odds are now with the Mavericks in basketball playoffs betting to win the series as teams that win Game 1 go on to win the series 78.6% of the time.