Article courtesy OddsShark (@OddsShark)
The Los Angeles Lakers are 2-3 straight up and against the spread through the first five games of their first-round series against the Phoenix Suns. The Lakers need a win at home on Thursday night over the Suns to force a Game 7 in Phoenix on Saturday.
Los Angeles is a two-point favorite on the NBA odds to win Game 6 at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The betting odds on this game are likely to heavily fluctuate when the status of Anthony Davis for Thursday night’s game becomes clear (how line movement works).
Suns vs. Lakers | OddsShark Matchup Report
To upset the Suns without Anthony Davis in Game 5, the Lakers needed an outstanding performance from LeBron James, a couple of other players to step up on offense, and a great team effort on defense. Los Angeles got none of those things on Tuesday night. The Lakers trailed 66-36 at the half and were eventually blown out 115-85, allowing over 102 points on defense for the first time in the series.
James finished the game with 24 points and Kyle Kuzma (15) and Talen Horton-Tucker (11) were the only other players to finish with more than nine points. The Lakers are just 10-11 SU and 6-14-1 ATS over their last 21 games per the OddsShark NBA Database.
Devin Booker recorded 30 points, seven rebounds and five assists in Phoenix’s blowout win in Game 5. Cameron Payne also had another strong performance with 16 points in just 19 minutes of action off the bench. Payne averaged only 8.4 points per game during the regular season but has been a solid contributor in this series with 15.8 points per game over Phoenix’s last four games. The Suns are 25-13 SU and 20-16-2 ATS on the road this season.
Thursday night’s total is set at 207 points at online betting sites. The UNDER is 4-1 so far in this series.
Anthony Davis is listed as questionable for Game 6 with the groin injury that has kept him out of the last six quarters of this series. Even if Davis is able to play, it’s safe to assume that he won’t be anywhere near 100%. The rest of the team is going to have to step up with or without him if the Lakers hope to avoid elimination on Thursday night.
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