NBA Western Conference Finals Betting Odds, Lines Picks & Predictions Game 3

After taking care of business at home, the Suns travel to LA for Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. However, even though they lead 2-0, it was far from easy. On Tuesday, in Game 2, Phoenix needed an incredible last-second alley-oop to seal the win. With that victory, they’re now on an amazing 9-game winning streak in the postseason. Their overall season SU record is now 61-23. Against the spread, the Suns went 51-31-2. After losing two days ago, the Clippers now find themselves down 2-0 for the third consecutive time in the 2021 playoffs. They’ve shown the ability to respond so far, but the way they lost on Tuesday is certainly demoralizing. The Clips are now 55-32 SU and 48-37-2 ATS over the whole season. Thursday’s matchup will mark the 6th time the two teams meet this season. The Suns have the upper hand so far, with 3 wins.

Line Movement

The odds for this game have been all over the place in the past two days. The initial lines favored Phoenix by -1 before moving to Evens or even -1 in the Clippers’ favor. However, with the news of Chris Paul’s likely return, the Suns are again -1 favorites. The total also saw a lot of movement. After opening at 218.5, the OVER/UNDER line now stands at 221.

Notes on Los Angeles Clippers

With Kahwi Leonard confirmed out for Game 3, the Clippers’ offense will have to continue relying on Paul George. Leonard has scored 30.0 ppg in the playoffs and is certainly a big loss for the Clips. However, George has thrived in his absence over the last 4 games. He’s been scoring 31.25 points per contest during that span. But, on Tuesday, it seemed that fatigue is starting to catch up with him. He finished the game with 26 points on 10-23 from the field but missed two clutch free throws. He was particularly bad from beyond the arc, going 1-8. As a team, the Clippers did find from the deep and that’s been their main edge compared to the Suns so far. In the first two games, they shot 40.5% for three compared to 32.8% for the Suns.

Leonard and Ibaka are still out for the Clippers.

Notes on Phoenix Suns

The Suns will like their chances in Game 3 after two home wins and with Chris Paul likely back. Still, the series could easily be tied if not for the fantastic play design from Monty Williams in the last second of Game 2. With only 0.9 seconds remaining, DeAndre Ayton caught the lob from Jae Crowder for the game-winning alley-oop. The Suns do have some reasons for worry, however. The Clippers seem to have figured out some things defensively and managed to mostly contain Devin Booker. They started Patrick Beverly who created a lot of issues for Booker with his aggressive defense. As Booker scored only 20, it was Cam Payne who took the reins, going for career-high 29 points.

Chris Paul is probable to return from health and safety protocols, so Abdel Nader remains the only absentee for the Suns.

Betting Pick: The Suns -1

The Clippers gave their all in Game 2 and still lost. It’s hard to see the hitting another gear, at least until Kahwi returns. The Suns will be boosted by Chris Paul’s return and continue to be a tough matchup for the Clips. Expect Phoenix to continue good form and take the commanding 3-0 lead.