The NBA Finals have gone to a Game 7 five times since 1979 and the road team has never won.
So with Miami favoured by six points heading towards Thursday’s series clincher, can San Antonio buck history and become the first road team since the 1978 Washington Bullets to celebrate a Game 7 win?
Can the Spurs possibly rebound from that Game 6 collapse, where stadium security was setting up for a championship celebration just seconds before Ray Allen sent the game to overtime?
“If I were a betting man, which I am, I would predict a blowout in Game 7,” said Mark Presley, the NBA handicapping voice of OddsShark.com. “Home teams always seem to win Game 7, but this is special circumstance and it’s hard to imagine the Spurs can rally.”
Indeed, the past five NBA Finals to reach Game 7 all saw the home team celebrate. In Game 7s generally, the home teams are 12-4 straight up since 2008.
But covering the spread is different and bettors need only look back to 2010 for evidence that road teams can pay off at the sportsbook window and Proline tickets. The Celtics were 6.5-point underdogs at Staples Center and covered with an 83-79 final.
Miami won Game 6 after trailing by 13 in the second half. They failed to cover six points but were lucky just to force a Game 7. Much-maligned former Raptor Chris Bosh was a hero with a few late blocks and a shovel past to Allen for the game-tying trey with five seconds to play.
“With this reprieve, we expect LeBron James to play the whole game like he did in the fourth quarter and that will result in an easy Heat victory in our opinion,” said Presley.
That result would fly in the face of the San Antonio’s recent solid play as a dog where they are 10-5 against the Spread in their past 15 games in that role.
List of Game 7 winners
| Year | Teams | Score | Spread |
| 2010 | Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics | 83-79 | -6.5 |
| 2005 | San Antonio Spurs vs. Detroit Pistons | 81-74 | -4 |
| 1994 | Houston Rockets vs. New York Knicks | 90-84 | -4.5 |
| 1988 | Los Angeles Lakers vs. Detroit Pistons | 108-105 | N/A |
| 1984 | Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers | 111-102 | N/A |
| 1978 | Washington Bullets @ Seattle SuperSonics | 105-99 | N/A |
