in the first two rounds of the NBA Playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers went on the road and won Game 1. Nikola Jokic and the denver nuggets were not going to let that happen to start the Western Conference Finals.
Jokic posted 34 points, 21 rebounds and 14 assists in a six-point Game 1 win for the Nuggets. Denver jumped out to a big lead in the first half and came back from the Lakers to take a 1–0 lead in the series.
The Nuggets led by 21 points during Game 1, but the Lakers cut that deficit to just three twice in the final minutes of the fourth quarter in an eventual 132–126 win for Denver.
Will the Lakers' second-half effort continue into Thursday night's Game 2? The Nuggets are supported by 5.5 points on BetMGM With the total listed at 226.5.
In Game 1, the Lakers got 40 points from Anthony Davis, a nearly triple-double from LeBron James (26 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists) and 23 points and eight assists from Austin Reeves, but they could not overcome the Nuggets. . hot start.
Jokic set the tone early as he nearly triple-doubled by halftime. And when Jokic led off, the Nuggets had five others with double-point scoring efforts, including 31 from Jamal Murray and 21 from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
After the game, James said that the Nuggets were “punched in the face” in the first half, forcing the Lakers to play “catch-up” almost all night. It's hard not to expect a more focused first-half effort from the Lakers in Game 2, especially on the defensive end.
After the result of Game 1, Nuggets are now -250 to win the series And go on to the NBA Finals. The Lakers are listed at +200. Additionally, Denver is now the co-favorite to win the title. nuggets and both The Boston Celtics are listed at +150, even though Boston dropped Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals at home to the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.
Here's a first look at the rest of the sports betting slate for Thursday:
PGA Championship underway
The first round of the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in New York began Thursday morning.
Scottie Schaeffler (+750) and Jon Rahm (+800) entered the tournament as betting favorites ahead of the likes of Rory McIlroy (+1400), Xander Schaeffele (+1600), Patrick Cantlay (+1800) and Brooks Koepka (+) I entered. 2000).
light day in mlb
It's a travel day in major league baseball and there are only six games on Thursday's schedule, four of which will be played in the afternoon.
Another interesting match of the day will take place in Queens as the New York Mets look to sweep their three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays have the best record in baseball at 32-12 while the Mets are off to a disappointing 21-23 start. However, the Mets got a big win on Wednesday when Pete Alonso hit a 3-run walk-off home run to give his team a dramatic 8–7 victory in 10 innings.
On Thursday, the Mets will have Tyler Magill in front of Taj Bradley. The Rays are the slight favorites on the road, listed at -120 on BetMGM. The Mets are +100.
What's the best bet?
I'm going to take the Lakers +5.5. I think there will be a carry forward effect from Game 1 in a lot of ways. The Lakers are troubled by their lackluster first half, but an adjustment and comeback in the second half could propel them to a potential Game 2 victory.
I wouldn't go so far as to take the Lakers to +180 on the moneyline, but I would go ahead and play +5.5.