Sixers vs. Pistons Sportsbook Betting (Thursday)

[Qbins Missile Crisis]

NBA: Sixers on the brink

The Detroit Pistons try to close out the Philadelphia 76ers as five-point road favorites on Thursday night. Bet on the game here.

The contest begins at 8 pm ET on TNT and it’s the only game on the NBA schedule. A whopping 94% of the early bettors favor Detroit, figuring that Philly is on its last legs down 3-2 in the series.

The fact that Philly is on the brink of elimination is surprising to many NBA fans. Philly was up 2-1 and had a 10-point halftime lead at home in Game 4. If they could have held onto that advantage, they’d be in the driver’s seat right now.

Instead, the Pistons stormed out of the locker room and outscored them 34-16 in the 3rd quarter. They held on for a 93-84 victory behind 11-12 shooting from Tayshaun Prince.

Detroit continued that momentum in Game 5 at home with an easy 98-81 victory. Point guard, Chauncey Billups was the key with 21 points, shooting a respectable 50% from the field. In the two prior games, Billups was just 6-27 from the floor, so he was determined to give his best effort.

"We knew Game 6 was going to be an elimination game either way it went," Billups said. "We wanted to be on the upper hand of that."

If Philly hopes to turn the tide, they must get a monster game from their best player, Andre Iguodala. He is averaging a woeful 12.6 PPG in the series compared to 20 PPG in the regular season.

Iguodala did have 21 points in Game 5, but the rest of the starting lineup had trouble scoring. Detroit is too deep and too good for Philly to play less than their best game and expect to win. The question is their mental state after having this series turnaround so quickly.

Philly coach Maurice Cheeks is confident that his team’s spirit has not been broken.

"They have not sapped our spirit," Cheeks insisted. "They sap our spirit when it is four wins. They haven't yet."

Having the home crowd behind them is certainly a good start, but is it enough to cover a modest five-point spread? Find out Thursday night.

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