Philadelphia levelled the series 1-1 on Wednesday with a 111-97 victory to take home court advantage. It was a 17-3 fourth quarter run that won Philly this game, as Tyrese Maxey hit back-to-back threes, followed by buckets from Andre Drummond, Kelly Oubre Jr and VJ Edgecombe to make it a 16-point buffer for the visitors with less than three minutes to play. It was a much-improved offensive performance from Nick Nurse’s men, posting a 125.0 offensive rating, as the likes of Edgecombe, Drummond, Oubre and Paul George all shot well from the floor. The rookie was the best player on the floor on Wednesday, finishing with 30 points, 10 rebounds and two steals, putting his poor Game 1 performance behind him, while Maxey had 29 points and nine assists on an iffy 50.2% TS%.
Boston looked like they were on their way to another blowout win on Wednesday, with a 16-0 first quarter run giving them a 26-13 lead. However, that proved to be a flash in the pan, as Philly worked their way into the lead in the second quarter, before a 5-15 run early in the third made it 56-69 and effectively put Boston out of the contest. It was a terrible defensive showing from the hosts and an almost as bad offensive night, as they finished with a 111.5 offensive rating and had just 13 shot attempts at the rim. That meant that they took a lot of jumper, making for a poor shooting evening, with just a 47.2% eFG%, as the likes of Jayson Tatum, Payton Pritchard, Derrick White and Sam Hauser all had bad showings. Jaylen Brown shone with 36 points, seven rebounds and four assists, but he is going to need much more help across the board to get a Game 3 win.
Boston are still heavily favoured in the market but with this series moving to Philly, I expect the hosts to at least be competitive. Boston’s shooting will improve on Saturday, but their defence raised a lot of concerns in Game 2 and there’s every chance that Maxey and Edgecombe continue to have success in this matchup. That makes Philly the bet.
Houston’s chances of progressing in the playoffs are starting to slip away from them after a 94-101 loss to the Lakers in Game 2. Even as Kevin Durant returned to the lineup, Houston were unable to get their offence going at Crypto.com Arena, with a 106.8 offensive rating. They were again content with taking midrangers and while their offensive rebounding again brought themselves some success, with 15 second chance points, their offence never looked convincing. Durant had 23 points in his return but his nine turnovers were a real stain against his performance, often making bad decisions when double teams came his way. Alperen Şengün had an improved night of 20 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks and Amen Thompson put up 16 points and nine assists, but the likes of Tari Eason, Reed Sheppard and Jabari Smith Jr all struggled to make an impact.
It was Marcus Smart’s turn to take a step up in Los Angeles’ undermanned back court on Wednesday, as he posted 25 points, seven assists and five steals in the win. Along with LeBron James’ 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and Luke Kennard’s 23 points and three steals, the Lakers were able to give Houston’s defence plenty of trouble, shooting well across the floor, including going 14/17 at the rim, to pick up an important win. Now up 2-0 in the series, the Lakers did the job at home, and Austin Reeves has been upgraded to questionable for Game 3 which adds another layer of interest to this series. Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, and Deandre Ayton have all played their role well so far, and the mismatches that Los Angeles has been able to create on the offensive end are going to continue to cause issues for Houston.
Houston certainly deserve to be favoured in this Game 3, but I am low on confidence on both their offence and their defence. LA have been able to regularly get to the rim in this series and if that continues, the Lakers have every chance of winning on Saturday.
This series was given a major shake-up on Wednesday as Victor Wembanyama crashed to the floor and suffered a concussion, allowing Portland come back to secure a 106-103 victory. With the series now at 1-1 and heading to the Moda Center for the next two games, Portland will have a sense of belief in them, with a 22-6 fourth quarter run winning them Game 2. Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson and Toumani Camara were at the centre of that game-winning stretch, and Henderson emerged as the star of the night with 31 points on 78.9% TS%. Holiday struggled with his shot, going just 6/17 from the field, but his 16 points, nine assists and two blocks were huge in Portland’s win. Robert Williams III had 11 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks in just 23 minutes of action and the two-way play of Camara saw him become a huge part of the win as he posted 10 points, nine rebounds, three steals and one block. Deni Avdija was much quieter in Game 2, shooting just 5/13 and committing four turnovers and five fouls to have just 14 points and three assists on the night, but nothing more was needed as Portland picked up a big road win.
San Antonio will be hoping for a quick recovery from Wembanyama, who fell hard on his head after tripping on a spin move on Wednesday. He was formerly diagnosed with a concussion one day later, which makes it unlikely that he will suit up for Game 3, and that is going to be a real issue for the visitors. Stephon Castle struggled without his big man, posting 18 points on 7/20 shooting, along with seven rebounds, five assists and three turnovers. Devin Vassell also had an off night with 16 points on 6/16 shooting and 12 rebounds, and missed the potential game-tying shot in the final possession, and De’Aaron Fox will need to provide more, as he shot just 6/16 for 17 points and 4 assists. Luke Kornet has proven to be a more than capable backup big this season and Keldon Johnson will also likely see a spike in minutes in Wembanyama’s absence, but with the visitors relying on their superstar to lock down their defence and be their main source of offence, we are going to see a somewhat disjointed San Antonio team on Saturday.
Portland go into this contest as 3.5-point underdogs at home, and they are a must bet in this spot. Their defence has been impressive over the past couple of months, and with San Antonio likely without a clear number one option now, I expect the host to have large passage of plays go their way. That makes Portland real value as underdogs.