NBA Finals Game 5 2024/2025 Expert Tips and Best Bets | June 17

Game five of the NBA Finals is here and the series is knotted at two games apiece. OKC tied it up in game four and is now at home with a chance to take the series lead. We think they will do so in strong fashion, winning by 10+. As well, we’re leaning towards to under in total points and Tyrese Haliburton to hit two or more threes.

Thunder -9.5 | $1.90 @ Betfocus

To the surprise of many it has been the Thunder on the back foot in the Finals with Indiana having led 1-0 and 2-1. We’re looking for that trend to end today in a big way. OKC has been dominant at home all playoffs long and this series hasn’t been all that different. They lost game one thanks to a huge Pacers comeback, but led by double digits for the vast majority of that game. In game two, they won by 16. We believe OKC is more the team that we saw in most of game one and in game two than the final quarter of game one. Because of this, we’re taking OKC to cover -9.5 at $1.90 on Betfocus.

Total Points U223.5 | $1.90 @ Betright

Oklahoma City and Indiana came into the Finals as two of the highest scoring teams in the playoffs. Much of this came down to their pace of play as both sides had generated lots of offense from running in transition. In the Finals, each defense has keyed in on that aspect. As such, these games haven’t been the high scoring affairs many expected. Three of the four games thus far have seen the total fall below the 223.5 mark that NBA betting sites have the line at. We think the defensive intensity by both sides can be trusted and because of that, we like under 223.5 at $1.90 on Betright.

Tyrese Haliburton 2+ Threes | $1.30 @ PlayUp

Tyrese Haliburton’s aggression offensively is a much discussed topic. Many people believe he must be more assertive and even somewhat selfish for Indiana to win the Championship. However, even if he may not consistently attack the rim as much as people would like, he almost always gets his threes up. He has taken seven or more in each of the four games against OKC in the Finals. On each of those occasions except one, he has made two or more threes. We think he will keep this output high, and we trust him to hit more than one. Tyrese to make 2+ threes at $1.30 on PlayUp is the pick here.