Spurs at Thunder Game 6 Pick

San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

Game 6

Saturday 8:30 EST

May 31, 2014

Game 6 Line: Oklahoma City -4 (Subject to change. Click here for current odds)

Back at the AT&T Center, the San Antonio Spurs felt right at home.

With a 117-89 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night, now leading 3-2 in the Western Conference finals, the Spurs can return to the NBA Finals with a victory on Saturday night. But in order to do so, the Spurs must win one game on the road. In this series that has featured the past two Western Conference champions, the road team has been the ones taking a beating in every game so far.

The Spurs performance in Game 5 reminded everyone why they were the NBA’s best team throughout the regular season, and why they earned the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. They also returned to their style of play that allowed them to win the series’ first two games by a combined 52 points. The Thunder’s defense was no match for the Spurs offense, which connected on 13 3-pointers and out-rebounded the Thunder 48-35. After losing twice in Oklahoma City by an average of 11 points, San Antonio continued it’s home dominance by responding with a classic Spurs team effort.

In Game 5, tied at 32 after the first quarter, the Spurs then shifted into another gear. After that point, there was no doubt that the Spurs assured themselves a Game 7 at home. And if the trend in this series continues, there will be one game to determine the Western Conference champion.

The Spurs have failed to defeat the Thunder the past nine times they’ve played in Oklahoma City. If the Thunder want to make it a perfect ten, Kevin Durant, who was solid with 25 points, need him to be spectacular to force this series back to San Antonio.

And Russell Westbrook, who was also superb in Game 5 by lighting up the Spurs, was a different player Thursday night – one the Thunder can’t afford to show up if they want to survive. Then again, so were the Thunder who resembled more the team that was humiliated in Games 1 and 2, than the team who was victorious in Games 3 and 4.

Entering Game 6, there’s no reason to believe that the road team is going to win. Neither team has proven in this series they can win on the road and I’m not sure if a road team ever will. Before this series began, I picked the Spurs to win in 7. By no means, did I envision the series playing out like this, but five games into this series, I’m sticking with my prediction. The Spurs know that even if they were to lose Game 6, they’ll be returning home for a chance to wrap up the series in seven.

The Thunder on the other hand are playing for their lives. Therefore, I’ll be betting on the league MVP to carry the Thunder to victory on Saturday night. You should too.

My Pick: Thunder -4 Bet these odds now!