Mavericks vs. Thunder Game 6 Betting Preview, Odds, How To Watch

After the OKC Thunder walloped the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of this Western Conference semifinal series, it seemed like the youngsters were for real. Since then, however, Dallas has taken three of four games, with their one loss coming in Game 4 when they gave up a double-digit fourth quarter advantage. Now, with the young Thunder beaten and bruised, Luka Doncic and company smell blood.

Dallas Mavericks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder NBA 2nd Round Game 6 Betting Odds

All odds provided by Sports Interaction.

When to Watch and How to Watch Mavericks vs. Thunder Game 5

The penultimate game of this Western Conference semifinal between the No. 1 seed OKC Thunder and No. 5 seed Dallas Mavericks will take place on Saturday, May 18 at 8:00PM E.T. at Dallas’ American Airlines Center. Canadian viewers can watch this matchup on TSN1 or TSN5, while streamers can use the TSN app to catch the action. American viewers will be presented with an ESPN broadcast of the contest.

Mavericks vs. Thunder Point Spread Betting Preview

In Game 1, it seemed as though the Thunder had the better supporting cast, and that their youth and energy would trump the savvy experience of the Mavericks, as they won by 22. However, since that game, Luka Doncic and company have flipped the switch.

They haven’t beaten the Thunder by more than 12 yet, but they’ve pretty much dominated most of the last four games of this series, of which they won three. And this is all with Dallas’ second-best player, Kyrie Irving, contributing just 14.4 points per game.

While all of these games have been close, the Mavericks have managed them well. In Game 2, they led for the final 18 minutes of the game. In Game 3, a 16-0 run in the third quarter gave them a lead from which they wouldn’t look back. In Game 4, which they choked away, they led the entire way until the final four minutes or so. In Game 5, they took the lead four minutes in and never relinquished it.

A big reason for their dominance has been the emergence of the secondary pieces for Dallas, most notably P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford, and Derrick Jones Jr., all of whom are scoring in double-digits. This trio uber-athletic, offering the ability to defend 1-5, and Doncic and Irving have made it a point to get them more involved in the offense, which has in turn given them more confidence when shooting the ball.

In the regular season, Washington contributed 11.4 points on 42 from the field and 31 from deep, but in this series, he’s putting in 19.4 points on 49 from the floor and 48 from long range. Jones has also boosted his scoring output from 8.6 during the regular season to 11.0 in this series.

Meanwhile, as SGA has improved his scoring output and three-point efficiency from his regular season numbers, his supporting cast has faltered. Jalen Williams was scoring 19.1 per game on 54 and 43 from the field and deep in the regular season, but against Dallas he’s at just 16.0 on 41 and 31.

Similarly, Chet Holmgren has seen his numbers plummet in this series: 16.5 per game on 53 and 37 percentages in the regular season, down to 14.8 on 49 and 25 in this series. Lu Dort is scoring about the same as he was in the regular season, but his efficiency has fallen off a cliff, as 44 and 39 from the field and deep have become 31 and 32 in this series.

Dallas has the experience advantage, the size advantage, and now, they clearly have the depth advantage. That’s three strikes, and the Thunder are out, so take the extremely reasonable -3.5 point spread at -115 odds being offered by Ontario sportsbooks and don’t look back.

Here are a few NBA betting trends from this season to consider:

• Dallas is 7-4 ATS in the playoffs
• OKC is 5-4 ATS in the playoffs
• Dallas is the second-best ATS team this year with a 55-38 mark
• OKC is the fourth-best ATS team this year with a 51-39-1 mark
• OKC is 22-22-1 ATS on the road this year
• OKC is 8-8-1 ATS as the road dog this year
• Dallas is 18-15 ATS as the home favorite
• Dallas is 31-25 ATS after a win
• OKC is 13-13-1 ATS after a loss

Top Mavericks vs. Thunder Player Points Props