The NBA Finals head to Boston for Game 3 with the series tied at 1-1. We preview Thursday mornings pivotal game right here and bring you our best spread and player prop bets!
Also, be sure to check out our NBA Tips page regularly to find our best bets for each and every game of the NBA Finals!
NBA Finals Betting Tips: Game 3
Golden State Warriors at Boston Celtics
Thursday 11am AEST, TD Garden
The Celtics enjoyed a solid lead early on in Game 2 against the Warriors which would’ve had the home fans nervous, but that lead quickly evaporated late and the momentum swung the way of the Warriors. Trailing 1-0 and on their home deck, the Warriors were in desperate need of a win and they were able to achieve that in comfortable fashion thanks to a blistering third quarter where they outscored the Celtics 35-14.
Steph Curry was the head of the snake once again for the Warriors, pouring in another 29 points with five triples, while Jordan Poole chipped in with a handy 17 points to help fill the void left by the struggling Klay Thompson. For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum found his stroke early and finished with 28 points, while Jaylen Brown and Al Horford could only combine for 19 points, which was a long way off the 50 points they put together in the opening game.
There were no injuries to report in Game 2 and that means that both teams will have a full complement of players to suit up on Thursday morning. In saying that, the Warriors trio of Andre Igoudala, Gary Payton II and Otto Porter, as well as Celtics big man Robert Williams are all still dealing with slight niggling injuries.
Despite putting the Celtics to the sword in Game 2, the Warriors will start as the 3.5-point underdogs when the series shifts to Boston for Game 3. I agree with the bookies here in that the Celtics deserve to be the favourites, but I can also see them winning by a fair bit more than the spread suggests. They’ll undoubtedly make some adjustments to their offensive execution in Game 3 and get the ball zinging around again like they did in the second half of Game 1. I also expect their intensity to be a lot higher as they look to regain the lead in this series. Celtics to go ahead 2-1 on the back of a good win on Thursday.
Boston Celtics -3.5 (1.5 Units)
$1.90
Prop Bets
Jaylen Brown was the catalyst behind the Celtics big comeback win in Game 1 and it really wasn’t a big surprise considering how good he is offensively. He’s had 24+ points in seven of his last 10 games and I expect him to hit that mark again here.
Jaylen Brown 24+ Points ($1.87 Ladbrokes)
A bit of an obscure market that I think is value is Kevon Looney to record at least one block. The Warriors big man has had four blocks through two games in this series and should get a few looks at it in Game 3 with the number of times the Celtics drive.
Kevon Looney 1+ Block ($1.92 Ladbrokes)
Someone else had to step up in Game 2 to help Steph Curry with the scoring load and that man was Jordan Poole. He’s had a phenomenal season and clearly isn’t afraid of the big moment. With Klay Thompson currently in a funk, I like the odds of Poole getting his overs in this one.
Jordan Poole+ Points ($1.98 Ladbrokes)
