The Thunder need only one more win to eliminate the Grizzlies from their NBA playoff betting matchup after taking a 3-2 series lead on Wednesday night. At home in Game 5 the Thunder were a 6-point favorite on the NBA odds and were able to cover the spread in a 99-72 blowout win.
Oklahoma City and Memphis had battled in a triple-overtime marathon two days earlier, and it appeared to have drained both sides of energy as they were both sluggish. Kevin Durant scored 19 points to lead the Thunder. That total may seem low for Durant, but he was rested for most of the second half once the Thunder had such a big lead on Memphis. Russell Westbrook also had his minutes on the floor cut and finished with 11 points and six assists.
The Grizzlies delivered their worst shooting performance of the season in the loss. Memphis shot a season-low 36% and only Marc Gasol scored in double digits with 15 points. Zach Randolph, who had been a double-double machine and had carried Memphis through the postseason, had a horrible game with nine points and seven rebounds on 3-of-9 shooting. Mike Conley couldn't find his shot with nine points on 4-of-16 shooting, while Tony Allen and O.J. Mayo combined to score only 13 points on 6-of-22 shooting.
Not only did Oklahoma City out-shoot the Grizzlies in Game 5 they also out-rebounded them by a 50-33 margin. In comparison, in the triple-overtime clash in Game 4 Memphis had 55 rebounds to the Thunder's 54, and heading into Game 5 the Grizzlies had out-rebounded the Thunder in the series 193-183.
If Oklahoma City can finish off the Grizzlies on Friday night as a 2-point road underdog at Sportsbook they'll move on to the Western Conference Finals to face the Dallas Mavericks. A Memphis win would mean a winner-take-all Game 7 in Memphis on Sunday night.
Looking ahead to the potential conference final matchups, the Mavericks were actually better against Oklahoma City this season than they were against Memphis. Dallas was 2-1 SU and ATS versus the Thunder, compared to 1-3 SU and ATS against the Grizzlies. In their last 10 games against Memphis the Mavs are only 4-6 SU compared to 8-2 in their last 10 against the Thunder (and their former identity the SuperSonics).
When you look at it ATS it's bad either way for the Mavericks. In their last 10 games against Memphis the Mavs are 3-7 ATS, and in their last 10 versus the Thunder/Sonics they are 3-6-1 ATS.
