Sports betting roundup: NHL and NBA playoffs finish first rounds with several Game 7s

The first rounds of the NHL and NBA playoffs are complete.

The weekend saw two Game 7s in the NHL, where the Dallas Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 on Saturday and the Winnipeg Jets beat the St. Louis Blues 4-3 in double overtime on Sunday.

In the NBA, there were also two Game 7s, where the Denver Nuggets blew out the Los Angeles Clippers 120-101 on Saturday and the Golden State Warriors beat the Houston Rockets 103-89 on Sunday.

Trends of the Week

At the BetMGM online sportsbook, Denver closed as a short favorite (-2.5) in their win over the Clippers, where they led 93-66 going into the fourth quarter. The Nuggets took in 76% of the bets and 71% of the money in against-the-spread betting.

On the PGA Tour, Scottie Scheffler won his home tournament, the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, just outside of Dallas over the weekend. He finished at 31 under, winning by eight strokes. He also tied the PGA Tour scoring record for a 72-hole event. Scheffler was a massive favorite at +300 going into the event, and took in the most bets (11.8%) and most money (36%) in pre-tournament outright winner betting.

Upsets of the Week

In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Indiana Pacers upset the Cleveland Cavaliers 121-112 on the road. Indiana closed as an 8.5-point underdog and took in 44% of the bets and 39% of the money in against-the-spread betting. In terms of the moneyline, the Pacers were +290 and took in 57% of the bets and 33% of the money.

The Warriors were slight underdogs (+2.5) in their Game 7 win over the Rockets. Golden State took in 64% of the money in against-the-spread betting, and 71% of the bets in moneyline betting, where they were +115.

The Blues-Jets Game 7 saw Winnipeg score two goals in the final two minutes of regulation, including one with just under three seconds remaining to force overtime, and then Adam Lowry won it at the 16:10 mark of double overtime. Going into the third period, when the Blues led 3-1, they were -1000 on the moneyline, and the Jets were +575.

Coming Up

After just over a month of the MLB season, the Los Angeles Dodgers remain big favorites in World Series odds at +240. Los Angeles is currently 23-11 and leads the NL West by half a game over the San Diego Padres.

The New York Yankees have the second-shortest odds at +800, followed by the New York Mets at +900 and the Philadelphia Phillies at +1200.

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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.