The NBA Finals continue Thursday with Game 3 between the Oklahoma City Thunder vs Indiana Pacers, with the series moving to Indiana.
We have NBA Finals Game 3 expert tips and predictions for the big game where the winner takes a 2-1 series lead.
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NBA Finals Game 3 Tips
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The Thunder showed why they’re the favourites to win the NBA Finals after bouncing back to win Game 2 123-107. It was a must-win game for the Thunder, who blew a big Game 1 lead when losing on the last shot of the contest.
Coming back from that loss wasn’t easy, so it was good to see them do everything right and keep Indiana at bay. However, they now travel to Indiana in a hostile environment looking to avoid going down in the series for the second time.
Given the talent on the Thunder roster, we think they can overcome playing on the road. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is putting up great numbers, and despite winning league MVP, we feel as though he’s underrated by NBA viewers.
He is the reason why the Thunder are –5.5 favourites to win Game 3, and punters know he’ll play a good game. He’s almost guaranteed to have 25+ points, and he’s a very good chance to score 30+ points, which puts the Thunder in a great position.
The Pacers need to withstand the early Thunder onslaught to have any chance, but with Tyrese Haliburton only showing up when it’s a close game in the fourth, there is too much in taking the Pacers to cover the spread.
Include Thunder –5.5 in your NBA Finals multi picks. The best team should prevail, and we see the Thunder winning by close to double digits.
Thunder by 12
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We’re backing Haliburton to struggle from the field. He scored just 17 points in Game 2 and only 14 points in Game 1, but everyone remembers him making the final shot to win the game.
It was a great shot, so credit where credit is due, but for an All-Star guard, he’s not putting up the numbers you would expect in the NBA Finals. Scoring 17 points and having only six assist and three rebounds in Game 2 isn’t good enough, especially compared to the numbers being put up by Gilgeous-Alexander.
Most of the money has come for Haliburton under 17.5 points, which has been heavily backed. It’s worth including in NBA Finals Game 3 picks.
We expect a big game from Chet Holmgren, who hasn’t been at his best during the NBA playoffs, but he showed good signs when dropping 15 points in Game 2. His current points total is 14.5 points, and he’s due for another solid scoring night.
He should get closer to the rim throughout the game, and although he’s a threat from the outside, the Pacers defence is thin in the paint, so he could take advantage.