Golden State At Memphis
When: 9:30 PM ET, Friday, May 15, 2015
Where: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
PREDICTION: Warriors 100, Grizzlies 91
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Oddsmakers currently have the Warriors listed as 5-point favorites versus the Grizzlies, while the game’s total is sitting at 194½.

Memphis was a 98-78 loser in its last match on the road against the Warriors. They failed to cover the +10-point spread as underdogs, while the total score of 176 sent UNDER bettors to the payout window.

Golden State knocked down 14 3-pointers in Game 5, and shooting guard Klay Thompson made three of them while scoring a series-best 21 points. Thompson is averaging 17.4 points against Memphis and he struggled early in the series when routinely guarded by Allen. The Warriors are trying to get forward Draymond Green loose but he scored just seven points in Game 5, is 13-of-40 shooting over the past four games and is averaging 11.8 points in the series.

Team record: 74-17 SU,51-39-1 ATS
Golden State is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
Golden State is 4-8 ATS in its last 12 games
Golden State is 11-2 SU in its last 13 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Golden State’s last 5 games

Memphis has drawn criticism for its impotent offense, with Allen receiving much of the blame, but coach Dave Joerger was quick to point out that Memphis tallied only 78 points without Allen being in the lineup. Allen plans to play in Game 6 as will go as far as the ailing hamstring will allow. “I am doing this for the guys in that locker room,” Allen told reporters. “I’ve been there with them since Day One. I’d rather be in there in that battle. If they say our season is on the line and we need everybody, I’m one of the troops.”

Team record: 61-31 SU,45-44-3 ATS
Memphis is 2-4-1 ATS in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Memphis’s last 5 games
Memphis is 5-1-1 ATS in its last 7 games at home
Memphis is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home

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Houston At L.A. Clippers
When: 8:30 PM ET, Sunday, May 10, 2015
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, TNT
PREDICTION: Clippers 119, Rockets 114
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Oddsmakers currently have the Clippers listed as 7½-point favorites versus the Rockets, while the game’s total is sitting at 217.

Last time out for Houston, they were a 124-99 loser as they battled the Clippers on the road. The Rockets failed to cover in the match as a +6.5-point underdog, while 223 combined points moved the game OVER for totals bettors.

Star guard James Harden attempted 15 free throws in Houston’s win but averaged just 5.5 attempts in the two defeats and is averaging 25.7 points and 10 assists in the series. “I think I could have been a little bit more aggressive,” Harden told reporters about his inability to take over in the two losses. “Just too passive. Just too passive.” Harden could use some help from backup forward Josh Smith, who has been highly unproductive in the series and is averaging eight points on 9-of-31 shooting.

Team record: 61-29 SU,52-38 ATS
Houston is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
Houston is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston’s last 6 games
Houston is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games on the road

The much-maligned Rivers took over Game 3 and scored 15 of his points during the 20-3 burst that broke open the contest. Part of the criticism hurled his way stems from the fact that his father Doc coaches the club, and Paul was encouraging dad to enjoy his son’s impressive splurge. “Even when C.P. said that, it was like white noise to me,” Doc Rivers told reporters. “(Austin) was just very aggressive and that’s what we’ve been telling him to do. The scoring and all that was great, we love it, but the big picture was we allowed C.P. to get back in this series, feel comfortable and not overextend himself.”

Team record: 62-30 SU,44-48 ATS
LA Clippers is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
LA Clippers is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of LA Clippers’s last 7 games
LA Clippers is 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games at home

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Houston At L.A. Clippers
When: 10:30 PM ET, Friday, May 8, 2015
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
PREDICTION: Clippers 105, Rockets 104
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Center Dwight Howard has played like the dominant star he once was in the first two games and contributed 24 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks in Game 2. His knee injury is now behind him and he is averaging 23 points, 13 rebounds and 4.5 blocks while making 17-of-24 field-goal attempts. “At this point, it’s win or go home,” Howard told reporters. “You have to continue to play hard and you get through whatever. It is going to be tough out there every night. Every possession counts.”

The total has gone OVER in 4 of Houston’s last 5 games
Houston is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Houston’s last 5 games on the road
Houston is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Houston’s last 21 games when playing LA Clippers
Houston is 4-12 SU in their last 16 games when playing LA Clippers
Houston is 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games when playing LA Clippers
Houston is 1-7 SU in their last 8 games when playing on the road against LA Clippers
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Houston’s last 12 games when playing on the road against LA Clippers

ABOUT THE CLIPPERS: Coach Doc Rivers expects Paul to return at some point in the series but it doesn’t seem like Friday is even remotely possible since Paul has yet to resume running. “It’s really tough, especially with the way that I play, there’s only way I know how to play,” Paul told reporters. “It’s one of those things where you don’t want to make it worse than it already is.” Austin Rivers has started at the point in Paul’s absence and is averaging 13.5 points and 2.5 assists in the series.

The total has gone OVER in 5 of the LA Clippers last 6 games
LA Clippers are 19-5 SU in their last 24 games
LA Clippers are 8-3 SU in their last 11 games at home
LA Clippers are 1-8 ATS in their last 9 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of the LA Clippers last 15 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of the LA Clippers last 21 games when playing Houston
LA Clippers are 12-4 SU in their last 16 games when playing Houston
LA Clippers are 7-16 ATS in their last 23 games when playing at home against Houston
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of the LA Clippers last 12 games when playing at home against Houston
LA Clippers are 7-1 SU in their last 8 games when playing at home against Houston

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Whatever it was, the Chicago Blackhawks finally found that extra gear they talked about for days.

Johnny Oduya and Marcus Kruger scored in the third period, Corey Crawford made 20 saves and the Blackhawks beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 in the opener of their second-round playoff series Wednesday night.

“Much better from our prior series,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “I thought what we’re talking about in our team game was in place. Had some pace, had some speed, zone time, and I thought everybody contributed.”

In the wake of Chicago’s five-game victory over Minnesota in the first round, Quenneville talked about a higher level of intensity, and each of his biggest stars echoed his comments. The response was a dominant final two periods in the Blackhawks’ first game in the Western Conference semifinals since they won the Stanley Cup in 2010.

Marian Hossa had the opening goal in the first, and Patrick Sharp finished with an empty-netter and two assists to give him nine points in the postseason.

“I thought it was our best game of the playoffs, no question,” Sharp said.

Jimmy Howard had 38 stops in a terrific performance, but Detroit still lost to rival Chicago for the eighth straight time dating to last season.

“I think in the first it was pretty even, but then I think in the second and third they looked like they had a little more energy than we did,” Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg said. “It’s going to be nice to have a day off tomorrow and practice and then looking forward to Game 2.”

The series resumes on Saturday at the United Center.

The 75th all-time playoff game between the Blackhawks and Red Wings was tied at 1 after two periods, and Howard made a great stop on a breakaway by Dave Bolland 4 1/2 minutes into the third.

Chicago kept working and went in front to stay on a heady play by Oduya. He drifted in from the point and sent Sharp’s pass past Howard on the glove side with 12 minutes left.

“Getting the win is the only thing that actually matters,” Oduya said. “Like I said, anyone could have scored that goal at that point. We had a lot of chances, and I’m lucky I got it in there.”

Kruger then jumped on a loose puck and sent a backhander into the upper right corner to make it 3-1. That was more than enough for Crawford, who caught a break when Damien Brunner’s rebound attempt went off the crossbar and straight down before Brent Seabrook swept it away with about three minutes left.

The opener of the 16th playoff series between the Original Six teams was the first game for Chicago since it eliminated Minnesota last Thursday. Detroit closed out Anaheim with a 3-2 win in Game 7 on Sunday night, taking the final two games of the series against the second-seeded Ducks.

Despite the long break, there was no sign of rust for the Blackhawks. The Red Wings skated right with Chicago at the start, but they couldn’t keep up at the end of the game and coach Mike Babcock said they were looking forward to a day off.

“We’re not trying to take anything away from them,” he said. “They were better than us. The score tonight was more than fair as far as I’m concerned. They were better.”

The Blackhawks struck first in the first playoff game between the teams since Detroit won the 2009 Western Conference final. With Gustav Nyquist in the box for hooking, Sharp forced a turnover along the boards and Jonathan Toews sent the puck to Hossa, who one-timed it past Howard at 9:03.

Detroit needed less than two minutes to respond, tying it when Brunner poked in a rebound for his third career playoff goal. The rookie center also contributed three assists in the first round against the Ducks.

The Blackhawks killed off two power plays created by penalties on Andrew Shaw. They killed off another one when Nick Leddy was sent off for delay of game in the second period, making them a perfect 20 for 20 on the penalty kill in the postseason and sinking Detroit to 1 for 18 on power plays against Chicago, including the regular season.

“We know that we’re a much better team than this,” Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “The second and third period were not nearly good enough. We know we’re better than this, so we have to find to get better here for Game 2.”

Game notes

It was the 800th game between the teams. … Detroit F Justin Abdelkader was shaken up after he collided with Blackhawks D Michal Rozsival in the first period. He was helped to the bench after a few moments down on the ice, but eventually returned to the game. … Blackhawks F Viktor Stalberg was a healthy scratch. Quenneville said it was a “coach’s decision” and Stalberg could get back on the ice at any point. … Toews and Pavel Datsyuk of the Red Wings joined Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins as finalists for the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward. … Chicago won eight of the previous 15 playoff series against Detroit.

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