The Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder will continue their 2024 NBA Playoffs second-round series on Wednesday with a crucial Game 5 against Oklahoma City. The Mavericks and Thunder split the first four games evenly, with each team picking up important road wins. Both teams are looking to build a chance to end the series in Game 6 with a win Wednesday night.
Luka Doncic will likely battle a knee injury. Dallas is still without Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Maxi Kleber. Oklahoma City is unscathed in terms of injuries.
The Thunder are 4-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook with a total score of 213 points. Oklahoma City is -175 on the money line and Dallas is +145.
Mavericks vs. Thunder, 9:30pm ET
Select ATS: Thunder-4
This series follows the same script as the first round matchup between Dallas and the Clippers, but I think we'll see a change here. The Thunder have the best home record in the league, going 33-8 in the regular season and 3-1 in the playoffs. Oklahoma City is also a deep team, and that depth should ultimately give the young team an advantage. The Mavericks have experience with Doncic and Kyrie Irving, but their role players are playing so poorly right now that they should eventually cool off. I hope Oklahoma City wins Game 5 in this series and he takes a 3-2 lead.
Top/Bottom: Under 213 years old
In terms of totals, this has been an interesting series. Both games in Oklahoma City came close to this number, and Game 2 went over this line. Both games in Dallas were nicely under this line. The Thunder are 22-21-2 behind the over as the home team, and the Mavericks are 22-23-1 behind the over on the road. I think both teams understand each other well enough to make defensive adjustments, and eventually Dallas' role players will cool off with perimeter shooting. I'll try and get the under and shoot it in Game 5 as well.
