Best Clippers vs. Nuggets Player Props, ATS Bets: Clips Game 5 Favorites

The Clippers (5) appeared to be in control of their first-round series against the Nuggets (4) after winning Game 3 in dominant fashion, 117-83.

But thanks to an unbelievable Game 4 by Nikola Jokic (36 points, 21 rebounds and 8 assists) and a buzzer-beating putback dunk by Aaron Gordon, Denver managed to tie the series at 2-2 to set up a fascinating best-of-three mini-series for the right to take on Oklahoma City (1) in the Western Conference semifinals.

Clippers vs. Nuggets Series Winner Odds

With the Thunder and Cavaliers already onto the second round and the Celtics, Knicks, Pacers, Warriors and Timberwolves all up 3-1 in their respective series, Clippers-Nuggets is the only first-round matchup that is currently guaranteed to go at least six games.

Below are the series winner odds at DraftKings and FanDuel, which see the Clippers as clear favorites, even though it’s the Nuggets who have homecourt advantage.

• DK: LAC -160; DEN +135
• FD: LAC -164; DET +138

Clippers vs. Nuggets Game 5 Betting Odds

How to Watch Clippers vs. Nuggets Game 5

• Tipoff: 10 p.m. ET
• Channel: TNT/Max

Clippers vs. Nuggets Game 5 Player Props

Betting against Jokic is a horrible idea at this point, but given that he’s had more than 24 field-goal attempts twice in this series (Game 1, Game 4), but 16 or fewer in Games 2 and 3, he’s not exactly a safe bet to clear his lofty points total of 29.5 points.

If you’re going to back a Jokic scoring prop tonight, you’re better off with a small wager, like 0.5 or 0.25 units, on something like Nikola Jokic 35+ points (+280 at FanDuel).

There are safer player prop bets elsewhere on the board, though.

Kris Dunn 4+ Rebounds (+140 at DK, FD) — 1 unit

The least heralded member of the Clippers’ starting five has quietly taken his rebounding game to another level in this series.

Dunn came on down the stretch as an excellent defender for the Clips, but he averaged only 3.5 rebounds per game in the regular season in just over 24 minutes per game.

He has pulled down six boards in each of the last three games, though, and he’s averaging 5.75 boards and 25.8 minutes per game in this series. It’s worth noting that even amid foul trouble in Game 3 (minutes: 21:37) and poor 3-point shooting in Game 4 (minutes: 20:47) that prevented him from logging his usual playing time, he still grabbed 14 total rebounds in less than 43 minutes.

He’d be great value to grab at least four boards this evening even at -110 or shorter. So at this price, he strikes us as one of the best plays across the four playoff games that are taking place tonight.

The last time we were on Dunn’s player props, he came through with 6 points and 8 rebounds in his team’s Game 3 romp, cashing all three bets that we recommended: Over 9.5 pts + rebs (-114 at FD); Over 12.5 pts + rebs + assists (+110 at FD); and Over 13.5 PRA (+148 at FD).

So, in addition to taking Dunn 4+ rebounds (+140), we also recommend the following:

• Kris Dunn 5+ rebounds (+350 at bet365) — 0.25 units

Clippers vs. Nuggets Game 5 Pick, Best Bets

Game 5 isn’t the first game in this series that has felt like a coin flip, and it wouldn’t be the first to literally come down to the last second or overtime.

I can’t resist Jokic and Co. at plus money at home, though. The Nuggets are coming off not only an absurd performance from their superstar, but their most balanced effort of the playoffs. All five starters finished Game 4 with at least 13 points.

As of late Tuesday afternoon, both Michael Porter Jr. and Russell Westbrook were listed as questionable. But both are expected to be in action tonight, if not quite 100 percent healthy. It’s an understatement to call Westbrook a wild card, especially in a high-stakes playoff matchup like this one.

Still, he could provide a much-needed spark tonight for a team that got a total of just 26 minutes and 4 bench points from Peyton Watson, Vlatko Cancar, DeAndre Jordan and Jalen Pickett on Saturday night.

With that in mind, I’m going to bank on a close win by the Nuggets thanks to another big night by Jokic, plus a bounce-back effort by this team’s second-leading scorer, Jamal Murray. He went cold in Games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles (13-for-32 FG, 2-for-9 3PT combined), but he shot the ball well at home in Games 1 and 2 (16-for-37 FG, 7-for-15 3PT combined).

Clippers vs. Nuggets Game 5 Best Bets:

• Nuggets ML (+114 at FanDuel) — 1 unit

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