Wednesday Betting Recaps
Welcome to our daily recap of the sports betting results from the night before.
In case you missed the announcement last week, we’ve started splitting our “Tuley’s Takes” columns into two separate pieces: this FREE article where I recap last night’s betting action and update league-wide ATS stats in the various team sports, and then another one where I give my Best Bets on the day’s wagering menu.
Links to both articles should be found on the VSiN.com home page, though I advise my regular readers to also bookmark my dedicated page at https://vsin.com/news/dave-tuley-columns/.
As for Wednesday’s betting action, the most shocking result was the Heat (13-point road underdog and +550 on the money line) rallying from a 16-point, fourth-quarter deficit to tie the Bucks on Jimmy Butler’s incredible basket with 0.5 left in regulation (the Bucks inexplicably didn’t call a timeout to advance the ball to mid-court for a chance to win). They then beat them 128-126 in OT (the Bucks failed to get off on shot on their final possession, too) to clinch the series at around +750 dogs while eliminating the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed and also becoming the NBA’s first play-in team to win a series.
Also in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks beat the Cavaliers 106-95 as 5.5-point road dogs to also close out that series. The Knicks opened as short -120 favorites vs. the Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinal and up to -135/+115 at some books.
In the Western Conference, the Grizzlies beat the Lakers to pull within 3-2 in their series while the Warriors beat the Kings in their pivotal Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead.
Let’s get to the league-wide results in the NBA and NHL playoffs as well as Wednesday’s full MLB slate.
NBA: Faves/dogs split 2-2 SU and ATS with upsets by the Knicks (+5.5 in 106-95 win at Cavaliers) and Heat (+13.5 in 128-126 OT win at Bucks) as both clinched series. The Grizzlies (-4.5 in 116-99 win vs. Lakers) and Warriors (-2 in 123-116 win at Kings) covered as chalk. Road teams went 3-1 SU and ATS. Over/Unders split 2-2.
More NBA: Faves lead 26-13 SU and 22-17 ATS (56.4%) so far in playoffs. Home teams dipped to 25-14 SU and 23-15-1 ATS (60.5%). Overs lead 20-19 (Unders still lead 23-22 if including play-in tournament). The “zig-zag theory” (aka "loser of the last") went 1-3 ATS – Grizzlies won after losing prior game while Cavaliers, Bucks and Kings failed – and dropped back to .500 at 15-15-1 ATS.
NHL: Road underdogs went 2-0 on Wednesday with upsets by the Panthers (+220 in 4-3 OT win at Bruins) and Kraken (+165 in 3-2 win at Avalanche). Over/Unders split 1-1. Dogs actually took a 19-17 lead in the 1st round with 1 pick-’em. Road teams improved to 23-14. Overs lead 22-15. The "zig-zag theory" (aka "loser of last") went 1-1 to stand at 17-12 as Panthers won after losing the previous game while Avalanche failed to bounce back.
MLB: Faves went 9-5 with Rangers-Reds closing pick-’em. The biggest upsets were by Nationals (+185 in 4-1 win at Mets) and Pirates (+130 in 8-1 win vs. Dodgers). Home teams went 11-4. Unders led 7-6-2 with pushes in SD-CHC (8) and DET-MIL (8). On the season, faves lead 224-141 with 7 pick-’ems. Home teams took a 189-183 lead. Overs dipped to 181-172-19 (51.3%).
