The Portland Trail Blazers had played well enough to win the third and fourth games of their playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers, but then, perhaps, they were handed a gift. They did make the most of that gift, taking a 3-2 lead in the series, which was thought to be almost impossible after the first two games were concluded. But now, they have an opportunity to close things out, and do it at home, with Game 6, which begins at 10:35 PM ET at the Moda Center in Portland. BetAnySports customers will have the opportunity to place wagers on this game even after the opening tipoff, as they take advantage of the state-of-the-art software that is available through the magic of Live Betting Extra.

Portland had a lot of difficulty with the trapping defense of the Clippers in the first two games, and they lost those by a total of 41 points. At that juncture it was thought that they had done a good job becoming a playoff team to begin with, with all the personnel losses they had in the off-season, and that they might go away quietly. Obviously that was not the case. When they went back to Portland for the series they took two straight, and then the Clippers suffered injury losses to Chris Paul, who broke a bone in his hand, and Blake Griffin, who aggravated a quad injury he had earlier in the season. So now Doc Rivers is making do with a skeleton crew, and they fell 108-98 on Wednesday. This happened even though Damien Lillard, the star point guard for Portland, had an off-night.

In the NBA playoff odds posted on this game by the people at BetAnySports, Portland is a double-digit favorite:

Portland Trail Blazers -10
Los Angeles Clippers +10

Over 198 points -110
Under 198 points -110

The Clippers were forced to go with a small lineup in Game 5, operating without a power forward, as it turned out. They had only 42% of their shots from the field, but they were actually pretty competitive with the Blazers, because Lillard didn't get his offense going until the third quarter. But there was a dominant effort in the fourth stanza, as Lillard scored 16 points, and that, along with 27 total points from CJ McCollum and a surprising 19 for Maurice Harkless, propelled this team to a victory.

The Clippers were a hot team from the field in the first two games, hitting just under 50% of their shots, but some of the guys they would usually count on to be very accurate have not been. Jamal Crawford is only 37% for the series, and JJ Redick is 40%. As a team, the Clippers are shooting a little under 30% from beyond the three-point arc.

BetAnySports patrons should keep in mind that this scenario (minus the injuries, of course) is not all that uncommon for this Clippers team. In each of the last three seasons, they have lost a series in which they have at one time led. And if they turn out to be unsuccessful here, there could be sweeping changes in terms of personnel. There was already some talk that Griffin might be on the move, as this team won two thirds of its games without him this season, and there is that lingering problem that there is not enough room for him and DeAndre Jordan in the paint. Interestingly enough, Rivers was talking to some reporters about what might happen in the off-season, even though this season isn't finished yet.

Well, maybe he believes it is.

The Blazers are -1300 to win the series at BetAnySports, where you can get reduced juice wagering on all your basketball betting action, in addition to free play bonuses for signing up...... Remember that you can make your deposit using your Visa card, a person-to-person transfer or the virtual currency of Bitcoin!