Indiana Pacers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Game 5 Prediction, NBA Finals Odds
The Thunder took a page out of Indiana’s playbook in Game 4, rallying from a 10-point deficit in the second half to cruise to a 111-104 victory on Friday. With the NBA Finals tied 2-2, which team will move one win away from a championship on Monday?
OKC is a 9.5-point favourite to win on the NBA odds, with the total set at 224.5.
Pacers vs. Thunder NBA Betting Odds
Neither team has been able to grab solid footing in this series as they’ve alternated victories over the first four games. And while the Thunder are 7-1 in their last eight home games, that one loss came against the Pacers in Game 1 of this series.
Now a best two-out-of-three, Oklahoma City is a heavy -625 favourite to win the series on the NBA futures board. That’s a lot of confidence for a team that hasn’t held a series lead through four games. Indiana offers great value as +425 series underdogs.
Oddsmakers continue to overlook the Pacers as the favoured exact series result is OKC winning the next two games at -105. The biggest long shot is Indiana winning the next two games at +1,050.
If you’re looking for players futures’, there’s solid value in Aaron Nesmith to lead the series in three-pointers made at +225, the second-shortest odds behind teammate Tyrese Haliburton at +140. Nesmith leads the playoffs with 52 triples, while Haliburton is second with 48, and they each have 10 in this series.
Indiana Pacers
Game 4 is going to go down as a huge missed opportunity for the Pacers. Instead of having three chances to win the NBA championship, they’re now locked in a best-of-three series without home court advantage. Pascal Siakam led the way with 20 points and eight rebounds on Friday, while Tyrese Haliburton had 18 points and seven assists, and Obi Toppin finished with 17 points and seven boards.
There’s still positives to take away for Indiana from Game 4. They came out flying to start the game, scoring 20 points in the first five minutes. That’s only the second time all season OKC has been torched for that many points so early. If the Pacers can replicate their Game 4 start and combine it with the kind of finish they showed in Games 1 and 3, they’ll be in a good place on Monday.
Oklahoma City Thunder
You could argue the Thunder’s season was on the line in Game 4, so it should be no surprise they turned to their MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. SGA finished with a game-high 35 points, scoring 15 in the final 4:38. OKC closed the game on a 16-7 run, with Gilgeous-Alexander scoring all but one of those points. Jalen Williams added 27 points in the game, while Alex Caruso had 20 and Chet Holmgren put up 14 points and 15 rebounds.
It may seem like an overreaction to say Oklahoma City’s season was on the line in Game 4, but consider what history tells us. Teams with a 3-1 series lead in the NBA Finals have gone on to win the championship a staggering 37 times in the last 38 chances. Tied 2-2 with home court advantage is a massive advantage.
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