Sympathies if your NBA picks for Game 4 included Indiana Pacers +6.5. Benedict Mathurin robbed you, and sometimes, that's just going to happen in sports gambling.
The Oklahoma City Thunder get credit for that win against the spread, but anyone who watched knows Indiana deserves the nod.
This spread has tightened two points since the last game in Oklahoma City — a nod to Indiana exceeding expectations — but this Pacers vs. Thunder same-game parlay does not think it has tightened enough.
Pacers vs Thunder SGP - June 16
Pacers +9.5
Tyrese Haliburton 3+ threes
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Under 6.5 assists
No lead is safe against the Indiana Pacers. That was true even in a Game 4 loss. As the Pacers’ lead slipped away, they stayed within range of an upset. It was only Mathurin’s miscues in the final 44 seconds that kept the game from ending within a single possession.
Trust Indiana to keep things hectic throughout all 48 minutes. If the game appears out of hand, that is when desperation 3-pointers may show up.
Those could help Tyrese Haliburton clear this line for the third time in five games. He's shooting well from deep in the Finals, 10 of 30. Before struggling in Game 4, that was a more resounding 9-for-23.
That 1 of 7 performance was Haliburton’s second truly bad shooting showing in 20 games this postseason, also going 0-fer in the playoff opener against Milwaukee. Remove those two outliers, and he's shooting 36.2% from deep.
If things are desperate for Indiana, some Haliburton threes would be a logical result, and that could help notch two of these three legs.
Doubting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to dish out a pile of assists also, obviously, lines up with the Pacers covering the spread. For the most part, the thought is based on the Thunder’s reluctance to take threes.
Much of the credit for that should go to Indiana. It ranked No. 3 in opponent 3-point attempt rate after the All-Star Break, and that perimeter focus has tightened further against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the last couple of games, where OKC has taken just 38 total threes.
Meanwhile, Gilgeous-Alexander has taken nearly 30% of OKC’s shots in the Finals. His workload, combined with his supporting cast’s hesitation from deep, has drastically reduced the MVP’s playmaking role.
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Pacers vs Thunder betting resources
- Pacers vs. Thunder prediction
- Pacers vs. Thunder props & best bet
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