Mavericks vs. Thunder Game 3 Betting Preview, Odds, How To Watch

After getting shellacked in Game 1, the Dallas Mavericks bounced back in a big way on the road in Game 2, taking the contest 119-110 to tie the series up. That score is a bit misleading, as the Mavs were ahead by double digits for most of the second half. Now, with the series heading to big D, both teams will look to take a stranglehold of the series in Game 3.

Dallas Mavericks vs. OKC Thunder NBA 2nd Round Game 3 Betting Odds

All odds provided by Sports Interaction.

When to Watch and How to Watch Mavericks vs. Thunder Game 3

The Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder get an early start for Game 3, which will be held at Dallas’ American Airlines Center at 3:30PM EST on Saturday, May 11. Canadian basketball fans can watch the game on TSN as well as the TSN App, while American can watch the matchup on ABC.

Mavericks vs. Thunder Game 3 Point Spread Betting Preview

When sports betting sites side with the Mavericks, they’re usually right, as only three teams converted favorite status into covers this year more than Dallas and their 66.1 percent clip. They’ve also gone 12-3 ATS in their last 15 games as the favored squad. OKC have been a solid ATS team too, but if they have any deficiencies, they show up mostly on the road, as evidenced by their 7-7-1 ATS record as a road dog, which is their worst ATS split this year.

It makes sense, as the Thunder are still operating with a very young team that lacks playoff exposure, no matter how talented they are. This will also be the first game of these playoffs where the Thunder enter as the underdogs, and they’ve gone 1-4 ATS as the dog in their last five such outings.

Both of these teams have a couple of stars that carry them, but it seems as though Dallas’ slightly more deep and experienced bench could prove to be the difference. The Mavs are bigger and more athletic, and they share the scoring burden a little more, as in Game 2 they got double-digits from P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford, Josh Green, and Tim Hardaway Jr., who could be an x-factor coming in off injury. Heck, they still dominated a game in which Kyrie Irving scored just nine points!

Meanwhile, the Thunder have only had one notable bench performance across these two games, with Aaron Wiggins pouring in 16 in Game 1. Wiggins has only hit that mark six times all season though, so we don’t expect that again. Dallas is in a comfortable spot here as a home favorite, and with their superior depth, they should be able to cover a tiny -2.5 point spread here at -115 odds.

Here are a few more NBA betting trends from this season to consider:

• Dallas’ 53-37 ATS record this year is second-best in the NBA
• OKC’s 50-37-1 ATS record this year is third-best in the NBA
• OKC is 12-12-1 ATS following a loss
• OKC is 7-7-1 ATS as the road underdog
• OKC has covered the spread in 8 of their last 10 games
• Dallas is 21-7 ATS in their last 28 games
• Dallas is 37-19 ATS as the favorite

Best Mavericks vs. Thunder Player Props

In Game 2, Derrick Jones Jr. struggled a bit, shooting just 25 percent from the field, but he also took a whopping 12 shots and went over his 8.5 number for Game 3. Jones has gone over this number in five of his last seven games, and Luka Doncic is clearly recognizing that success and involving his supporting cast go hand in hand. We like the former dunk champ to get the over on this 8.5 point prop at -125 odds.

One thing about Kyrie Irving, he’s not going to be held down for long. Since the start of the 2022-2023 season, he has only put up back-to-back sub-20 point games thrice, which means he’s in line for a big bounce back in Game 3 after putting up a nine-point dud in Game 2. In his last 13 games following a sub-20 point night, Irving has averaged 25.5 points, only dipping below 23 points three times. With that in mind, the over on his 22.5 points prop at -115 odds seems like a lock.