Thunder vs. Lakers Game 3 Preview and Best Bet

The Los Angeles Lakers’ backs are against the wall on Saturday night, as they trail the Oklahoma City Thunder 2-0 in the Western Conference semifinals. Los Angeles is a home underdog for the third time this postseason in Game 3 of this series, and it won’t have Luka Doncic (hamstring) once again. Doncic’s status is truly up in the air for the rest of this series after he revealed earlier in the week that he was given an eight-week timeline to recover from this injury. OKC won Game 1 and Game 2 by 18 points, putting up 125 points and a massive second half in Thursday’s win. The Lakers and Thunder have matched up six times this season (four regular season games, two playoff games) and OKC has gone 6-0 with five wins by 18 or more points. So, it makes sense that the Thunder are sizable road favorites in Game 3. LeBron James and Austin Reaves both played well in Game 3, but it wasn’t enough for the Lakers to pull off an upset. After taking a 3-0 series lead against Houston in the first round, the Lakers have lost four of five games and have only scored over 100 points in one of them (Game 2 against OKC). Can they get back on track at home? Here’s a breakdown of the odds, my favorite player prop and a prediction for Saturday’s Game 3.

Game Info

Date: Saturday, May 9
Time: 8:30 p.m. EST
Venue: Crypto.com Arena
How to Watch (TV): ABC
Series: OKC leads 2-0

Spread: Thunder -8.5 (-110)/Lakers +8.5 (-110)
Moneyline: Thunder: -375/Lakers: +295
Total: 211.5 (Over -110/Under -110)

Best Bet: LeBron James 20+ Points (-157)

Earlier today, I shared in my NBA Best Bets column – Peter’s Points – why James remains an elite prop target in Game 3: James continues to hold off “Father Time,” dropping 20 or more points in six of his eight playoff games, including four in a row, heading into Game 3 on Saturday night. The Lakers star has been able to dominate some of OKC’s smaller wing defenders in the post, and he’s averaging 25.0 points per game while shooting 60 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3 in this series. So, I think it’s a discount to get him to score 20 or more points at home on Saturday. Austin Reaves’ presence has given James the ability to play off the ball with less defensive attention, and the star forward took advantage with several deep post-up catches in Game 2. James only has two games this postseason where he failed to score 20 points – Game 1 against Houston when he had 19 and Game 4 against Houston when he scored 10 on just nine shots in a blowout loss. I think this is a pretty safe play on Saturday night.