The Daily Sweat: Knicks, Warriors need home Game 5 wins to avoid elimination
Both New York and Golden State are down 3-1 in their playoff series
The New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors must win at home Wednesday night to keep their seasons alive.
The Knicks trail 3-1 to the Miami Heat in one Eastern Conference semifinal while the Warriors are down 3-1 to the Los Angeles Lakers in their Western Conference semifinal.
Both teams are favored Wednesday night and we’ll start with the first game in New York (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT). The Knicks have been bossed around by the Heat during the series when Jimmy Butler has been on the court yet are 3.5-point favorites at BetMGM.
The Knicks got a combined 52 points from Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson in Game 4 yet still lost by eight. The Knicks also got 24 points from R.J. Barrett but got just 25 points from the other six players who saw the court in the game. Butler scored 27 points in 42 minutes.
Randle is shooting just 22% from behind the 3-point line in the three games he’s played this series and is just 44% from the field. He’ll need to have a big game for the Knicks if they are to push the series to a sixth game in Miami.
The NBA wouldn’t be too unhappy if the Knicks kept that series alive for another game or two. And they really wouldn’t be sad if the Warriors got a win on Wednesday night (10 p.m. ET, TNT) to keep the marquee series of the conference semifinals going.
The Warriors are 7.5-point favorites against the Lakers in Game 5 after losing both Game 3 and Game 4 in Los Angeles. The Warriors lost by 30 in Game 3 before miscues in the final minutes of Game 4 relegated them to a three-point loss and a two-game deficit in the series.
Golden State already won three consecutive games against the Kings in their series during the first round of the playoffs and needs to do that again to get to the Western Conference finals. If Golden State loses on Wednesday night or in a potential Game 6 or Game 7, it’ll be the first time that Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson have lost a Western Conference playoff series since 2014.
The line is so big in this game for some pretty obvious reasons. It’s hard to see the defending champions going down easily — even if it’s to a team led by LeBron James — and they had one of the best home records in the NBA this season. But Anthony Davis has tallied a double-double in each of the Lakers’ three wins in the series so far and has been the best player on the court. Unless Golden State can figure out a way to consistently slow Davis down — he’s shooting nearly 60% from the field — it’s hard to see how the Warriors can get this series to a decisive seventh game.
A Milan derby in the Champions League
The second Champions League semifinal kicks off Wednesday afternoon (3 p.m. ET, CBS) as AC Milan takes on Inter Milan.
Inter is a slight favorite to win the game at home at +145, though we use the term home lightly. The two teams share the San Siro stadium. AC Milan is at +210 to get a win and a tie in regulation is at the same odds.
The over/under is set at 2.5 goals with the over at +138 and the under at -190. Oddsmakers clearly expect a tight defensive showdown.
Yankees are huge favorites
The New York Yankees are a whopping -225 to win at home against the Oakland A’s on Wednesday night. Johny Brito is set to start for the Yankees against Kyle Muller for the A’s. The Yankees are the biggest favorite of any team playing Wednesday and first pitch for the game is at 12:35 p.m. ET. Make sure to get your bets in early.
Every MLB team is in action on Wednesday and most are playing during the day. Nine of the 15 games set for Wednesday start before 5 p.m. ET and none of the six evening games begins after 7:40 p.m. ET.
Who cashed tickets Tuesday?
Sixers bettors made out like bandits on Tuesday night as Philadelphia took a 3-2 lead over Boston in their Eastern Conference semifinal. The Sixers got a massive road win against the Celtics as Joel Embiid had a fantastic game.
The Denver Nuggets got a 16-point win at home over the Phoenix Suns after the Sixers won to take a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference series.
