San Antonio Spurs +1 ½, o/u 193 at Dallas Mavericks, 9:30 p.m. Eastern, ESPN
by Ultimatecapper.com Staff
The Dallas Mavericks have a chance to give the home folks something they surely would covet; a Western Conference semi-final series victory over their divisional and in-state rivals, the San Antonio Spurs. Dallas gets that chance when they host Game 6 of this series Friday night.
San Antonio staved off elimination with a 98-97 victory in Game 5 Wednesday night, but Dallas still leads the series 3 games to 2.
Dallas has covered the spread in four of the five games in this series so far, and the last four games have gone over the posted totals.
The Mavericks are also 4-0 at home in the playoffs this season, while the Spurs are 1-4 on the road.
Dallas is 38-7 at home this season, 25-20 against the spread. San Antonio is 30-16 on the road this season, 22-23 vs. the number.
The Mavericks are 3-1 in this series since inserting guard Devin Harris into the starting line-up.
Also, not only has Dallas outrebounded San Antonio in every game in this series, the Mavs have won the battle on the boards in all their playoff games this season.
The teams split four regular-season meetings this season, each winning once on the other’s home court, with the o/u going 2-2.
Other than Dallas’ 22-point win in Game 2 of this series, the other four games have been decided by 1, 1, 2 and 5 points.
The home team is 4-1 straight up in this series, but just 1-4 against the spread.
Mavs guard Jason Terry (17 points, 4 assists per game during regular season) is suspended for Friday’s Game 6 after punching San Antonio’s Michael Finley in the groin late in Wednesday’s game.
If there is a Game 7 in this series, it would be played Monday back in San Antonio.
The Ultimatecapper Pick: We like San Antonio to beat Dallas tonight.
