Will Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets take Game 4 from the Clippers?
Few teams in the NBA have been hotter than the Los Angeles Clippers. Entering the postseason, Los Angeles had won eight straight games to claim the third-best record in the Western Conference.
The Clippers lost out on tiebreakers to their fellow Los Angeles franchise – the Lakers – and the Denver Nuggets. That’s how Denver hosted the first two games, and the teams split those two matchups by a combined one-point margin.
Thursday’s matchup was different. Los Angeles jumped in front of the Nuggets and cruised to a 34-point victory over the Nuggets to take a 2-1 series lead over Denver.
Can the Clippers maintain that momentum and win their 11th game in 12 tries? We’ll cover that and provide bettors with our three favorite player prop bets for Game 4 of this Western Conference series.
Los Angeles Clippers PG James Harden OVER 22.5
Clippers guard James Harden started the series strong, hitting 11 of his 22 shots to score 32 points in the series-opening overtime loss to the Nuggets. It was his fourth consecutive game scoring at least 23 points for Los Angeles.
In his team’s back-to-back wins, the 6-foot-5 guard finished with 20 or fewer points, and his shooting has returned to normal. He hit only 13 of his 31 shots during those two contests. Expect him to continue that trend on Saturday, failing to cover his scoring prop bet.
Denver Nuggets C Nikola Jokic OVER 39.5 Pts + Reb
In Denver’s series-opening win, Jokic poured in 29 points while grabbing nine rebounds. His 38 combined points and boards is the closest the 6-foot-11 Serbian has come to covering this player prop bet.
Denver needs to win this game to hold serve in the series. A loss on Saturday means the former NBA champions will need to win out to continue in the Western Conference playoffs. A victory gives the Nuggets some wiggle room. Expect Jokic to have a strong outing, easily besting this player prop bet.
Los Angeles Clippers C Ivica Zubac OVER 12.5 Rebounds
After posting a double-double during the regular season, Los Angeles center Ivica Zubac is a finalist for the league’s Most Improved Player award. The seven-footer increased both his scoring (16.8) and rebounding (12.6) averages this year by 25 percent more than any of his previous eight seasons.
Zubac began the series with 13 rebounds, but he’s missed the mark in back-to-back games. Los Angeles shot extremely well as a team on Thursday. There’s no reason to believe that will continue on Saturday. Expect the league’s fourth-leading rebounder to have a strong game and cover this player prop bet.
Best Bet: Denver (+6)
Four of the seven games between these two teams have been decided by five or fewer points. Thursday’s matchup was an anomaly, and bettors would be wise to take Denver to cover the spread against Los Angeles on Saturday.
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Earnest is a 25-year veteran of the newspaper industry. He's spent the majority of his early years working as a sports reporter and editor. He made the move back to the digital world in 2022, joining EatWatchBet as a senior writer. Ernie covers college football betting, fantasy football, and NFL betting for EatWatchBet.
