Portland Trail Blazers at Dallas Mavericks
Monday, 11/5/12, 8:30 PM EST, TV: FSSW
Opening Point Spread: Dallas -5
Current Betting Line: Dallas -4.5
Opening Total: 195
Current Total: 198.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Portland has alternated wins and losses over its first three games, coming off a 95-85 victory over the Houston Rockets as 5.5-point road underdogs, while going UNDER the total for the second consecutive contest. The Trail Blazers have been extremely happy with the play of rookie point guard Damian Lillard, who has started his career with three straight games of at least 20 points and seven assists. Portland is 3-7 ATS off an upset win as an underdog over the last two-plus seasons.
The Trail Blazers lost two of three regular-season meetings with the Mavericks a year ago, with the entire series being decided by a combined eight points. Portland has split the last six trips in Dallas inside the American Airlines Center. Power forward LaMarcus Aldridge is the player to watch offensively, averaging 29.0 points per game versus the Mavericks, which was his second-highest scoring average against any opposing team during the 2011-12 campaign.
Dallas has also alternated wins and losses over its first three games, picking up a resounding 126-99 win over the Charlotte Bobcats as 10-point home favorites on Saturday, while going OVER the total for the third consecutive time to start the season. The Mavericks are playing without the services of All-Star power forward Dirk Nowitzki, but are hoping that Chris Kaman can pick up the slack, as he finished with 16 points in his team debut last time out. Dallas is 9-4 ATS in November over the last two-plus seasons.
The Mavericks have won 23 of the last 31 regular-season meetings between these two Western Conference squads, with Shawn Marion averaging 14.3 points and a team-high 11.7 rebounds. Dallas has gotten some great production out of guard O.J. Mayo, who connected on a career-high seven three-pointers en route to a game-high 30 points versus the Bobcats. Offensively, the team shot 61.3 percent from the field in that affair, which was the highest field goal percentage for the franchise since Nov. 25, 2009.
Sports bettors will likely play the total in this affair, as the OVER is 23-9 in the Mavericks last 32 games overall, while the Trail Blazers have climbed above the number in seven of their last nine road games versus a winning home team.
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