Clips Must Win, Spurs Look To Close Series

Game 5 between the Los Angeles Clippers and the San Antonio Spurs was bonkers. It had 17 lead changes, but when the final seconds on the clock ran down the Spurs were on top, winning 111-107. With the win, San Antonio took a 3-2 series advantage and are one win away from advancing. For the Clippers, they are now in a must-win situation to force a series-deciding Game 7.

The Spurs opened -5.5 favorites against Los Angeles and as of this writing that has remained unchanged at the sportsbooks we frequent. The total opened at 205.5 points and also remains the same.

The Clippers need help from their bench if they hope to force a Game 7. Blake Griffin scored 30 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in Game 5. Chris Paul had 19 point and 11 assists, which pale in comparison to his 34 points in Game 4, but still a great effort. The Clippers bench, however, combined for only 17 points.

The Clippers now return to San Antonio, but with a straight up 9-1 record over their last 10 road game, being away from home doesn’t seem to phase the Clips. It is important to note that one road loss over 10 games come courtesy of the Spurs in Game 3 when they stomped LA 100-73.

The Spurs are getting all-around solid performances from their entire squad, but no one has been quite as impressive as the 39-year-old Tim Duncan. Duncan was key to the Spurs Game 5 win with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

The Spurs are great at home going 9-1 straight up over their last ten and sending those betting them to the window eight of those games.

With a total set at 205.5 points the UNDER may seem like the safe bet. However, both the Clippers and Spurs trend toward the OVER in situations like this. The Spurs have hit the OVER in four of their last six game. The total has gone over a whopping 10 time over the Spars last 14 games against the Clippers. The Clippers have hit the OVER in four of their last six games on the road.

The game starts at 9:30 p.m. ET and you can watch it on TNT.