NBA Betting: Lakers Try To Force Game 7

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers have their backs against the wall in a must-win game Thursday night in Game 6 of their opening-round NBA playoff series against the Phoenix Suns.

The Suns hold a 3-2 series lead after defeating the Lakers 115-85 as a 4.5-point home favorite in Game 5 on Tuesday night. Devin Booker led Phoenix with a game-high 30 points in the win. The Lakers were playing without forward Anthony Davis and his absence was definitely felt in the 30-point loss. James led the Lakers with 24 points with Davis sidelined by a groin injury.

Los Angeles favored despite Davis’s questionable status

Even with Davis questionable to play on Thursday night, the Lakers are 3-point home favorites in Game 6 at Bovada Sportsbook. Before losing Game 4 at home as a 6.5-point favorite, the Lakers had won seven in a row when favored. That streak wasn’t money for bettors, though, as the purple and gold were 3-4 against the spread.

Davis will obviously be the X factor for the Lakers if he plays. The often-injured star missed 37 games for the Lakers this season and Los Angeles was 19-18 straight up in those games. Three of them were against Phoenix, and the Lakers lost all three.

Looking at the latest series odds at Bovada, after taking Game 5, the Suns are -275 favorites to win the series, while the Lakers are now +210 series underdogs.

Blazers also chalk to extend Nuggets to deciding game

Also on tap Thursday night is Game 6 between the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers. Denver holds a 3-2 series lead after taking Game 5 on Tuesday by a score of 147-140 in double overtime as a 2-point home favorite. Nikola Jokic led Denver with 38 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, while Damian Lillard buried a game-high 55 points for Portland in a losing effort.

At home in Game 6, Portland is a 4-point favorite at Bovada. The Trail Blazers are 5-1 SU and 3-3 ATS in their last six home games. That one loss came in Game 3 when they fell to the Nuggets 120-115 as a 3.5-point favorite. At home in the postseason, Portland is surprisingly 2-5 SU and 1-5-1 ATS in its last seven games.

Denver has covered only once in last five as underdog

Aside from that Game 3 upset, the Nuggets have been a bad bet as an underdog lately. In their last five games as the underdog, the Nuggets are 1-4 SU and ATS. However, as a road underdog in the postseason, the Nuggets are 7-4 ATS in their last 11.

The series odds at Bovada list the Nuggets as a -275 favorite and the Trail Blazers as +210 underdogs.