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Hang onto your pockets, they may be a bit lighter as of Monday morning after the bad beat in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
The Celtics closed between 6.5- and seven-point favorites for Sunday’s 105-98 win over the Mavericks, with 68 percent of the money on Dallas, BetMGM Sportsbook tells the Post.
Dallas trailed 103-98 with 53 seconds remaining after it forced a turnover. While in transition, guard Kyrie Irving bounced a pass to forward PJ Washington, who went up for a dunk but was impressively blocked by guard Derrick White.
Instead of a 103-100 deficit, the Mavericks gave another bucket to go down by the final score.
Luka Doncic later missed a 3-pointer with 25 seconds remaining.
Down seven with 15 seconds left, the Mavericks decided not to foul and extend the game with the typical bleak hopes of a few missed free throws.
Depending on the number you got on Celtics, you could’ve covered or pushed based on the closing line.
But fans were upset that the referees swallowed their whistles on the block, calling for a Jaylen Brown push as Washington went up for the dunk.
“White was clean Brown however pushed him in the back,” one X user posted.
“This is what happens when you have Celtics fans as refs,” another replied.
Based on data sent by BetMGM to the Post, the Celtics did not receive the lion’s share of the wagers of the two teams, meaning the sharps were not necessarily backing Boston.
The Celtics received 47 percent of the total bets and 32 percent of the money, while the Mavericks garnered 52 percent of the bets and 68 percent of the handle.
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With Dallas’ run coming up short for the betting public, it now faces a difficult task of being down 2-0 and needing to win four of the next five games in order to win the NBA Finals.
The Mavericks are now +650 to win the NBA Finals, with the Celtics now -1000 favorites.
Finals MVP is a different debate entirely, though, as Jayson Tatum is only a slight favorite at +130, while Brown comes in at +160.