NBA Betting Tips: Two picks for Sunday’s play-off clashes

The NBA play-offs are well and truly underway, and Sunday's NBA betting tips features two UK-friendly tip-off times as the Philadelphia 76ers take on the New York Knicks (18:00), and the Dallas Mavericks lock horns with the Los Angeles Clippers (20:30). 

New York lead their Eastern Conference best-of-seven series with Philadelphia 2-1, and Dallas are currently winning their match-up with Los Angeles by the same score,. The two matches on Sunday are finely poised, and should be entertaining encounters.

Philadelphia 76ers -4.5 vs New York Knicks @ 10/11

Philly will be counting their lucky stars that Joel Embiid suited up for the Sixers on Thursday night, as the reigning MVP came to their rescue with 50 points in a 125-114 victory to get Nick Nurse's side back into the series.

Tonight, Embiid will look to further help his team even their Eastern Conference first-round series at two wins apiece when they host the New York Knicks for Game Four.

Mitchell Robinson is expected to be absent for this one, which will be a huge miss for the Knicks as he's a legitimate option to harass Embiid. The Sixers will be sensing a massive opportunity to even the series and swing the momentum back in their favour.

In Games One and Two, Philly did an excellent job on containing Jalen Brunson, but the point guard erupted for 39 points in Game Three, and the Knicks will need another big performance from him tonight if they are to have a chance of stealing a game on the road.

However, I'm taking the Sixers on the spread for this game. It feels like Embiid is starting to heat up and with Robinson likely to miss out, the Knicks don't have an answer for him inside the paint.

Los Angeles Clippers to beat Dallas Mavericks @ 15/8

The Mavericks took a 2-1 lead in this series on Friday night, with a 101-90 home win.

The Game Three match-up marked the third-straight in which the Mavericks held the Clippers to fewer than Los Angeles' regular-season average of 115.6 points-per-game and less than Dallas' 115.6 regular-season allowance.

A win tonight live on the BBC in the UK would see the Mavericks have the chance to eliminate the Clippers in their own backyard in Game Five on Thursday, but the LA will also feel in control of the series if they can even if up on tonight.

Luka Doncic is questionable to play in Game Four for the Mavericks due to right knee soreness, and if he was to miss out here that would be a huge blow. The 25-year-old was the NBA's leading scorer in the regular season with an average of 33.9 points. Likewise, the Clippers could be missing Kawhi Leonard, who is also listed as questionable but the former San Antonio Spurs man has reiterated his desire to play.

I'm going to assume that Doncic is going to miss out here, so I'm backing the Clippers to steal Game Four and even up the series. Even if Leonard does miss out, James Harden and Paul George should be able to carry the scoring burden for Los Angeles.

Check out the rest of our NBA Betting Tips here.