Basketball Betting: NBA Finals Going Down to the Wire

More often than not in the last two decades, the NBA Finals has crowned a champion before a deciding seventh game. In the last 21 NBA Finals, there have been only two series that have been decided in a maximum of seven games. In 1994, the Houston Rockets defeated the New York Knicks in seven games. Eleven years later, the San Antonio Spurs took down the Detroit Pistons in a deciding seventh contest. If the Los Angeles Lakers can come through as a home favorite on Tuesday night against the Boston Celtics, the 2010 finals will go to a seventh game on Thursday evening at the Staples Center. Home teams have won the last four seventh games in the NBA Finals. The 1978 Washington Bullets were the last road squad to win a seventh game?  in the NBA Finals. Boston takes lead back to west coast After stealing the homecourt edge with a road win in Game 2 at Los Angeles, the Celtics promptly lost Game 3 at home last Tuesday. The Lakers came away with a 91-84 victory in Game 3 as a 2.5-point underdog. The game went under the closing total of 191. In a critical Game 4 on Thursday, the Celtics responded with a 96-89 win as a 4-point choice to even the series at two games apiece. Once again, the contest went under the closing over/under of 190.5. On Sunday, Boston took a lead in the series for the first time with a 92-86 victory in Game 5 as a 2-point favorite. For the third straight game, the total result was an under for an over/under of 189.5. In Game 6, the Lakers are a 6.5-point favorite with a total of 187.5. While all three games in Boston went under the total, the first two games of the series in Los Angeles went over the total. Regarding the odds to win the series, both teams are at -110. If the Lakers can send the finals to a deciding seventh game, history will be against Los Angeles. On four previous occasions (1962, 1966, 1969 and 1984), the Celtics and Lakers have gone the distance in the NBA Finals. Each time, Boston emerged with a victory. Overall, the Celtics are a perfect 7-0 in seventh games of the NBA Finals. Since the franchise moved to Los Angeles, the Lakers are just 1-5 in seventh games of the NBA Finals.