NBA Finals: Lakers battle Celtics in pivotal Game 5
By Chico Rodriguez • Jun 12th, 2010 • Category: NBAThe Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers meet for Game 5 of the deadlocked NBA Finals on Sunday at the TD Garden (8 pm ET, ABC).
Boston is a 3-point favorite and the over/under total is 188 in NBA Odds at JustBet.
The Celtics evened the series at two games apiece in Game 4 on Thursday, beating Los Angeles 96-89 at home. The Celtics covered the point spread as 4-point favorites, and the score stayed under the total of 190.
Boston’s reserve players provided ahuge boost for the Celtics, who trailed 60-62 going into the fourth quarter. Glen Davis finished with 18 points, nine of those in the fourth quarter. Nate Robinson also came off the bench for 12 points, half of them in the final quarter.
The Celtics outscored the Lakers 36-27 to secure the much-needed win, including 21 points from the bench.
Paul Pierce led Boston with a team-high 19 points and Kevin Garnett chipped in with 13 points. Kobe Bryant went 6-of-11 from beyond the arc and finished with a game-high 33 points for the Lakers. Pau Gasol chipped in 21 points and six rebounds.
The Lakers are 12-4 straight up in their past 16 games overall. The Celtics are 9-4 straight up in their past 13 games overall, and 8-3 SU in their last 11 games at home.
On the injury front, Los Angeles center Andrew Bynum is listed as day-to-day with a sore knee.
The series shifts back to Los Angeles for Game 6 and 7 next week.
Chico Rodriguez is is a sports handicapper with more than 15 years in the industry. He specializes in NFL and NCAFF analysis.
He was born and raised in Los Angeles and is still based out of the city. Since Los Angeles has no NFL team, his favorite is the Indianapolis Colts.
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