Phoenix Suns +5, o/u 213 at Los Angeles Clippers, 10 p.m. Eastern, ESPN
by Ultimatecapper.com Staff
In what is turning out to be a very entertaining series, the Los Angeles Clippers look to extend their franchise’s finest season in many, many years when they host the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 of this Western Conference semi-final Thursday night.
Second-seeded Phoenix won Game 1 of this series at home, but sixth-seeded L.A. won Game 2. The Suns then won Game 3 in L.A., but the Clippers won Game 4. Phoenix then won Game 5, a 125-118 in double-overtime thriller that could have gone either way, to take a 3-2 series lead.
The Suns led Game 5 by 19 at one point in the third quarter, but the Clippers fought back and sent the game into overtime. Then, with L.A. leading by three points in the waning seconds of the first OT, Raja Bell hit a tough, game-tying three-pointer from deep in the corner for Phoenix, sending the game to a second OT, where the Suns prevailed.
Bell is now 22 of 39 from 3-point range in this series.
These two teams split four games during the regular season, each winning once on the other’s home court.
L.A. outrebounded the Suns by an average of 15 per game in their four regular-season meetings. Then, in this series, the Clippers outboarded Phoenix by 31 in their Game 2 win and by 18 in their Game 4 win. In a Game 1 Phoenix victory, L.A. outrebounded the Suns by just three, and in a Game 3 Phoenix win, the Suns won the battle on the boards by one. In Game 5, L.A. outrebounded the Suns 57-50.
During the regular season, the Clippers outrebounded opponents by more than three per game, while the Suns got outrebounded by more than four per game.
The over/under is 16-29 in Clippers home games this season, 24-21 in Suns road games. The o/u also went 2-1-1 during the regular-season series between these two teams, and is 4-1 in this playoff series.
The Clippers are 31-15 straight up at home this season, 23-22 against the spread. The Suns are 25-21 on the road this season, 26-20 vs. the number.
The favorites are 3-2 straight up and 3-2 ats in this series.
Phoenix led the league with its 48% field goal shooting, 40% 3-point shooting and 81% free-throw shooting.
The Clippers limited foes to just 43% field-goal shooting this season, 4th-best in the league.
Suns forward Shawn Marion (22 points, 12 rebounds per game during regular season) landed badly on his ankle in the second OT Tuesday night, but he’s listed as probable for Thursday’s Game 6.
L.A. center Chris Kaman sat out Game 4 of this series with a shoulder injury, but played 19 fairly effective minutes, most of those in the first half, in Tuesday’s Game 5.
If the Clippers win Thursday night, Game 7 of this series will be played Monday night back in Phoenix.
The Ultimatecapper Pick: Despite a ton of folks liking the Suns, we think the Clippers get the money tonight!
