Sports betting roundup: Jaylen Brown's late layup in NBA Finals leads to payout for some
Some bettors got a big boost when Jaylen Brown’s layup with 29 seconds remaining in Game 2 of the NBA Finals gave the Boston Celtics a seven-point victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
Those were the final points in Boston's 105-98 win on Sunday, giving the Celtics a 2-0 lead in the series. The spread at BetMGM Sportsbook opened with the Celtics favored by 7.5 points but closed at 6.5 points. The basket gave the win to bettors who had -6.5, but those who put their money at -7.5 lost.
Of all spread bets, 44% of the tickets were on the Celtics, and 42% of the money.
In the Stanley Cup Final, the Florida Panthers won Game 1 at home and lead the Edmonton Oilers 1-0 in the best-of-seven series.
The Celtics are currently -900 to win the NBA championship, while the Panthers are -250 for the hockey title.
Trends of the Week
Dallas lost back-to-back games in the NBA playoffs for the first time. Prior to Sunday, the Mavericks were a perfect 5-0 in games following a loss. Meanwhile, the Celtics are undefeated on the road this postseason (6-0). In NBA Finals history, teams that take a 2-0 lead have ended up winning the series 31 times and lost only five times (86%).
The Panthers won the opening game of their series 3-0 on Saturday. Of the moneyline bets, 56% of the tickets and 66% of the money was on the Panthers (-145). The over-under was 5.5, with 75% of the money being on the over.
In golf, Scottie Scheffler won the Memorial for his fifth win of the PGA Tour season. Scheffler entered the tournament with +400 odds to win, by far the shortest in the field. When it came to pre-tournament betting, he took in the most number of bets (12.6%) and the most money (30.4%).
Upsets of the Week
In Game 2 of the NBA Finals, Kyrie Irving’s over 22.5 points (-135) was the most-bet player prop. Irving finished with 16 points on 7 for 18 shooting from the field, including 0 for 3 from 3-point range.
In Toronto's 7-0 win over the Oakland Athletics on Saturday, the Blue Jays finally scored a run in the first inning. That snapped a 29-game streak of not scoring in the opening frame. They were +210 to score a first-inning run in the game.
Coming Up
The U.S. Open will get underway this week from Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina.
When it comes to golf betting, Scheffler is a massive favorite, with +333 odds to win. Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele have the second-best odds at +1200, while Collin Morikawa (+1400) and Viktor Hovland (+1800) round out the top five.
Tiger Woods is making his third start of the season and is +20000 to win.
___
This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM Sportsbook.
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports
