The Portland Trail Blazers are the No. 3 seed in the West, but many experts liked the chances of the No. 6 Oklahoma City Thunder in their first-round playoff series because the Blazers had lost 10 straight playoff games. Well, that skid is over and Portland is favored on the NBA Lines to take a 2-0 lead on Tuesday night.
Thunder vs Blazers 2019 NBA Playoffs Spread & Game 2 Preview
“We’re going to go out and deliver it in Game 2. It’s one game at a time and you give everything you have… rack up four to get outta the series.” 🗣 –@Yg_Trece pic.twitter.com/Ce28diqgjg
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) 15 de abril de 2019
- When: Tuesday, 10:30 PM ET
- Where: Moda Center
- TV: TNT
- 2019 NBA Playoffs Spread: Portland Trail Blazers -1.5 (Total 223)
Spurs vs Nuggets 2019 NBA Playoffs Betting Lines & Game 2 Prediction
Why Bet on Oklahoma City?
The Thunder had their chances to take Game 1 but lost 104-99. Despite being down by as many as 19, the Thunder trimmed the deficit to just six points by halftime and with 2:44 to play, George sunk a three to bring the score to 93-92, but would get no closer as the Blazers claimed Game 1.George (sore right shoulder) didn’t quite look like himself in scoring 26 points on 8-of-24 shooting from the field over 43 minutes. PG-13 added 10 rebounds, four 3-pointers, four steals, and four turnovers while he was out there, but his shot was off and his right shoulder was bothering him. George said after the game that just four days ago he wasn’t able to lift his right (shooting) arm above his head, but he felt good enough to play in Game 1.
As a team, the Thunder hit an abysmal 5 of 33 from 3, with George’s off night punctuating it. Dennis Schroder, after hitting a career-high eight 3s against the Milwaukee Bucks in the Thunder’s final regular-season game (OKC hit a franchise-best 23), went 0-for-7. Russell Westbrook went 0-for-4, Jerami Grant 0-for-3. The Thunder shot 2-for-15 (13.3 percent) on uncontested 3s in Game 1. Overall, Oklahoma City’s 15.2 percent shooting on its 33 3-point attempts is the worst percentage in NBA playoff history on at least 30 attempts.
Westbrook recorded the ninth triple-double of his postseason career during Sunday’s Game 1 loss with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists over 38 minutes. He did appear to tweak his right ankle late in the game, but he played through it. With it being triple-double No. 9 of his postseason career, he’s now tied with Wilt Chamberlain for the sixth-most triple-doubles in playoff history.
Steven Adams hit 8-of-14 shots on his way to 17 points, nine rebounds, one assist, three steals and three turnovers across 36 minutes. Adams kept the Thunder afloat through the first quarter of action, dropping in 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting through his first 11 minutes of floor time. Six of his nine rebounds came on the offensive end of the floor, and if it weren’t for those second-chance opportunities the game wouldn’t have been close.
In his first ever playoff appearance, Nerlens Noel went 4-for-5 en route to eight points and six rebounds. The Thunder outscored the Trail Blazers 54-42 in the paint but were outshot 44.0 percent to 15.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Team Stats
Offense- Total Score: 114.29
- Field Goal Percentage: 45.31
- Three-Point Percentage: 34.58
- Free Throw Percentage: 71.51
- Total Rebounds: 48.10
Defense
- Total Score: 110.99
- Field Goal Percentage: 45.93
- Three-Point Percentage: 35.62
- Free Throw Percentage: 76.13
- Total Rebounds: 45.69
Why Bet on the Blazers?
The biggest surprise of Game 1 was former Thunder player Enes Kanter dominating with 20 points and 18 rebounds. Kanter added two assists, one steal, two blocks, and two turnovers in his 34 minutes of floor time, and the rebounds accounted for a new playoff career-high. He also drilled a clutch running layup in Adams’ face with 11 seconds left to help ice the game for Portland.Originally, Kanter was signed to provide frontcourt depth in Portland. His role changed on March 25, when center Jusuf Nurkic suffered a compound fracture of his left leg that ended his season, thrusting Kanter into the starting lineup.
Damian Lillard dropped in 30 points during Sunday’s Game 1 win over the Thunder, adding five 3-pointers, four rebounds, four assists and three steals over 39 minutes. Lillard got off to a hot start, scoring 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting through the first quarter of action, and he set the tone offensively for Portland, drilling a deep 3 from the Moda Center logo on the Trail Blazers’ first possession of the game.
C.J. McCollum scored 24 points on 9-of-21 shooting (3-of-5 from the line) to go with three triples, six boards, three dimes and three turnovers over 37 minutes. The win put an end to Portland’s 10-game playoff losing streak. McCollum showed no signs of being limited by the knee injury that forced him to miss 10 straight games towards the end of the regular season.
Moe Harkless was limited by foul trouble on Sunday, registering two points, six rebounds, one assist, one steal, three blocks and one turnover across 22 minutes.
The series marks Portland’s first playoff matchup against a divisional opponent since facing the Lakers in 2002 as members of the Pacific Division. The Trail Blazers have never faced a Northwest Division opponent since the division was formed in 2004-05.
Team Stats
Offense- Total Score: 114.52
- Field Goal Percentage: 46.66
- Three-Point Percentage: 35.94
- Free Throw Percentage: 81.30
- Total Rebounds: 47.99
Defense
- Total Score: 110.33
- Field Goal Percentage: 45.59
- Three-Point Percentage: 35.65
- Free Throw Percentage: 77.10
- Total Rebounds: 42.89
Magic vs Raptors 2019 NBA Playoffs Odds & Pick for Game 2
Thunder vs Blazers 2019 NBA Playoffs Betting Trends
- Oklahoma City is 4-9 ATS in its last 13 games on the road
- Oklahoma City is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Portland
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Oklahoma City’s last 7 games when playing Portland
- Portland is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Oklahoma City
- Portland is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
- The total has gone OVER in 14 of Portland’s last 17 games at home
- Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Portland
