The home teams held serve in the openers of the two Western Conference semifinal series in the NBA playoffs earlier this week. Phoenix rode a rejuvenated Chris Paul to a 17-point romp over Denver, and Utah had just enough to hold off the L.A. Clippers at home. Both of the higher seeds now have a chance to take a 2-0 lead heading on the road. Can Paul’s shoulder hold up? Did Kawhi & Company use all the gas in their tank in going seven games to knock out Dallas?
Check out these two game previews as well as our NBA betting wisdom for each contest.
NBA News: Western Conference Games (June 9-10)
Wednesday, June 9
Denver Nuggets at Phoenix Suns
Game 2 (9:30 pm ET, TNT) | Suns lead, 1-0
Paul took a hard hit on his right shoulder in the early moments of Game 1, but a few minutes later he was transformed, knocking down a pair of mid-range jumpers and a three-ball. He ended up with 21 points and 11 assists on the night, and Mikal Bridges led the Suns with 23 points, going 8 of 12 from the floor, including 4 of 8 from downtown. Even so, Denver led for much of the first half and had a 10-point lead early in the third period, but then the Suns went on a 19-2 run, going into the fourth quarter up by nine. Deandre Ayton added 20 points and 10 boards, and Devini Booker was the fourth 20-point scorer, putting up 21.
NBA MVP Nikola Jokic led Denver with 22 points, but he could not buy a bucket during that lengthy run by the Suns. Aaron Gordon chipped in 18 points, and Michael Porter Jr added 15. Jokic went just 10 of 23 on the night and blamed himself for a lack of aggressiveness in the second half. The battle in the paint between Jokic and Ayton will make an entertaining part of this series. Jamal Murray won’t return for the Nuggets in the playoffs, but Will Barton (right hamstring strain) and PJ Dozier (right adductor strain) could return later in this round. Can Jokic bring a better game in Game 2?
Final Prediction:
Suns 118, Nuggets 111
Thursday, June 10
L.A. Clippers at Utah Jazz
Game 2 (10:00 pm ET, ESPN) | Jazz lead, 1-0
Donovan Mitchell had a tale of two halves in Game 1; in the first half, he felt ill, with some light-headedness and nausea, and it showed on the floor, as he struggled on both offense and defense. However, whatever he did at halftime worked, because he went off for a 45-point night, lifting Utah to a 112-109 win over the Clippers. He scored 32 of those points in the second half, taking Utah back from a double-digit gap. Bojan Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson each put up 18 points, and Clarkson and Mitchell sank a combined 12 three-balls.
For the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard led the way with 23 points, and Paul George put up a fine playoff line, with 20 points and 11 boards. Luke Kennard led the Clippers with four three-pointers, scoring 18 points overall on the night. Los Angeles built a lead that grew as big as 14 before the Jazz were able to come back, putting on a 21-9 run with Bogdanovic three-balls on each end. By the end of the run, the Jazz were up by 10 with 5:22 left in the fourth period. Paul George hit a three to get the Clippers within three in the last minute, but Rudy Gobert got up to block Marcus Morris’ game-tying attempt with one second left to seal the win. What will the Clippers do differently in Game 2?
Final Prediction:
Jazz 111, Clippers 106
NBA Betting Odds
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