An incredible NBA season has reached its climax as the Western Conference champions Golden State Warriors will take on the Eastern Conference champions Boston Celtics in the NBA Championship finals in a best-of-seven series through June.
The Warriors will travel to Boston for Game 3 of the series in what is sure to be an exciting one, as they look to claim their first title since they went back to back in 2017 and 2018, in the midst of making five finals in a row. This is their first finals since 2019, when they lost to Toronto Raptors.
For Boston, they are looking to take the lead in the all-time table for championship wins by moving to 18 by securing their first title since 2008. They are currently tied with the LA Lakers on 17 titles.
We'll look ahead to Game 1 and break it down before providing you with our best free betting picks for what is set to be an explosive start to the final series of the season.
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Game 3 information
- Wednesday, June 8nd, 2022
- 21:00 ET
- TD Garden, Boston
- Live on ABC
NBA Championship finals series so far
It's been a thrilling series so far, and we're only two games into a potential seven-game series.
Game 1 surprised a few people as the Warriors lost their 100% home record throughout the playoffs when they fell to a disappointing 120-108 defeat at the Chase Centre.
Steph Curry was the main man, as usual, hitting 34 points and five assists and rebounds, while his supporting cast performed well too. Draymond Green grabbed 11 rebounds, Andrew Wiggins hit 20 points, while Klay Thompson and Otto Porter Jr hit 15 and 12 points each, respectively, but unfortunately, that wasn't enough.
Incredibly it was the veteran Al Horford who top-scored for the Celtics in Game 1, hitting 26 points with six rebounds, while Jaylen Brown hit 24 points with seven rebounds and five assists. Derrick White hit 21 points and Marcus Smart hit 18, while star man Jayson Tatum managed just 12 but backed it up with 13 assists and five rebounds.
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Game 2 was a different story though, as this time it was the Celtics who lost as the Warriors produced a quality display to earn a blowout 107-88 win.
Curry top-scored once again with 29 points in the game and rounded off a brilliant performance with a further six rebounds and four assists. Four other players hit double figures for points on the night, with Jordan Poole hitting 17, Kevon Looney hitting 12 and both Wiggins and Thompson hitting 11.
Tatum gave a good go of matching Curry hitting 28 points, six rebounds, and three assists himself. Brown hit 17 points himself and White hit 12, but nobody else hit double figures as they fell to a crushing defeat.
Golden State vs Boston NBA Betting Trends
So far this season, Golden State have gone 52-47-3 against the spread, and when playing as at least -3.5 point favorites, they are 34-31-2. Alternatively, Boston is 57-42-3 against the spread this season, and when they have been at least -3.5 point underdogs, they have gone 9-3.
With the Overset at 211 points for this game, there is plenty of chance that they hit it. Golden State have seen 65 of their 105 games this season hit the mark over the course of the regular season and playoffs, while the Celtics have managed it on 63 of 106 occasions.
Compared to their averages this season, the over/under for the game is currently set at 12.3 points fewer. During their two meetings earlier this season the teams combined for 198 and 218 points, respectively, showing that it's definitely capable of landing once more.
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NBA Finals Prediction
This will be an excellent NBA Championship final and one that will live long in the memory of fans all over the world.
Both teams have got individual star quality, but their results come from a great work ethic within the team and a great unit in which they all trust each other to maximize the potential of the team. On this occasion, though, it's hard to look past the Warriors.
Curry is on fire, and with Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins firing as well as Jordan Poole and Draymond Green all part of the supporting cast as well as the way they've been able to start fast in games on the road during the playoffs, I expect them to do it again and take Game 3.
