Lakers favorites for Thursday Game 4 vs Rockets

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

The Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks and the Western Conference semifinal matchup between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers had been tied together from the Orlando bubble in terms of both games playing on the same night.

That’s over, however, as the fifth-seeded Heat shocked the top-seeded Bucks in five games Tuesday, closing things out with a 103-94 victory. It clearly helped Miami’s chances that Milwaukee superstar and lock repeat NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t play Game 5 due to an ankle injury. The only game the Bucks won in the series was Game 4 when the Greek Freak injured the ankle early in the second quarter and didn’t return.

Miami was clearly the better team and has reached its first conference final since 2014, which was the last season of the LeBron James/Dwyane Wade/Chris Bosh dynasty. The Heat are the first No. 5 seed to reach the NBA’s final four since the Memphis Grizzlies in 2013.