LAKERS STOMP ROCKETS IN GAME #7 TO ADVANCE

The Los Angeles Lakers avoided what would have been an all-time monumental NBA playoff series upset by routing the Houston Rockets 89-70 in Sunday’s Western Conference semifinal game 7 at the Staples Center.  Despite losing superstar center Yao Ming to a foot fracture in game three, the Rockets gave the Lakers fits and defied skeptics by pushing the series to the limit.  Los Angeles will now meet the Denver Nuggets for the right to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals.

Looking at the contest from a sports betting perspective, the Lakers covered the -13 point spread with the final score going well UNDER the posted total of 194.  Five of the seven games in the series failed to exceed the total, and the Lakers have now gone UNDER in eight of their last ten games.  The pointspread never game into play during the Lakers/Houston series, with the outright winner in each game also covering the pointspread. 

Pau Gasol led Los Angeles with his ‘double/double’ of 21 points and 18 rebounds.  Trevor Ariza chipped in for 15 points, while Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum scored 14 each.  Houston was led by Aaron Brooks with 13 points, while Luis Scola (11 points) and Von Wafer (10 points) were the only other Rockets to post double figure scoring totals.  Neither team had a particularly impressive night offensively, but the Rockets were undone by a woeful 36.8% shooting percentage from the field.  After the game, Lakers’ scoring leader Gasol stressed the importance of preparation and focus to his enigmatic team:

"I think we learned that if we play hard every night and we're ready to compete, starting on the defensive end, we're going to give ourselves a chance. Hopefully we're going to carry that into the next round and to a championship. That's something we need to do consistently, no matter what, no matter where we play."

The Rockets’ Shane Battier, meanwhile, admitted that his team couldn’t match the Lakers’ intensity in the decisive game of the series:

"Coming in here for Game 7, we knew they were going to give us their best shot, especially in the first quarter. To be honest with you, we just didn't have energy to match it. Unfortunately, after we got past the first quarter we played them pretty straight up, but the damage had been done at that point."

Houston’s Ron Artest hoped that the team’s hard fought playoff run would help the younger players on the roster in the future:

"Obviously, the Lakers are more experienced than us, but I thought we were the better team. I thought it was a good learning experience for these guys. They've been through a Game 7. Most young teams get swept. That will really help the Rockets in the future."

The Lakers will now host the Nuggets on Tuesday night to begin their best of seven series.  Los Angeles has been installed as a -7 point home favorite in game one with the total set at 215.  The Lakers are also expected to win the series and are priced as -300 favorites to advance, with a  +250 takeback on the Nuggets.  While the current vintage Denver team bears little resemblance to their counterparts from previous seasons, the Lakers have dominated the Nuggets at home in head to head play—L.A. has won and covered 7 of the last 8 games between the two teams on their home court.