Warriors Remain NBA Championship Odds Favorites Despite Setback

Despite blowing a 31-point lead to the Clippers and losing DeMarcus Cousins, oddsmakers still think Golden State will win another championship.

The Golden State Warriors suffered a shocking loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday and lost a member of their starting unit to a season-ending injury, but they're still listed as heavy favorites on the NBA championship odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

Golden State somehow blew a 31-point lead in a 135-131 loss to the Clippers in Game 2 of their best-of-seven first-round playoff series on Monday night, falling as heavy 13.5-point betting favorites on the NBA odds after giving up 85 points in the second half of the game.

And to make matters worse for the Warriors, the team has likely lost center DeMarcus Cousins for the season with a torn quad. Cousins played only four minutes on Monday night, picking up two points and two rebounds. Stephen Curry led the way for the Warriors in the loss with 29 points, while Kevin Durant had 21 points. Lou Williams exploded off the bench for the Clippers with a game-high 36 points, while Montrezl Harrell scored 25 points.

But while Golden State lost Game 2, the Warriors are still clear -220 betting favorites (wager $220 to win $100) on the odds to win the NBA championship this season at the sportsbooks. Golden State is the only team in minus money on those futures, with the Milwaukee Bucks, Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors, and Boston Celtics trailing them on that list heading into Wednesday night's playoff action.

And the Warriors are also clear betting favorites on the road for Game 3 of their series with the Clippers on Thursday night, set as 8.5-point chalk after opening as 7.5-point favorites. Golden State topped Los Angeles 121-104 and paid off as 13.5-point home favorites in Game 1 of the series over the weekend, but is just 5-5 against the spread in its last 10 outings.

Thursday's other two games have the San Antonio Spurs set as 3.5-point home favorites against the Denver Nuggets, and the Philadelphia 76ers set as 3.5-point road favorites against the Brooklyn Nets. Both of those series are tied at one win apiece, with the Sixers rebounding from a Game 1 loss with a huge 145-123 victory as 8.5-point home favorites in Game 2 on Monday night. That was Philadelphia's sixth OVER result in its past eight games.

The Nuggets were upset by the Spurs in the opener of their first-round series on the weekend but won 114-105 as 7-point home favorites in Game 2 on Tuesday night. Denver had to come back from a 19-point deficit in that contest, putting up 39 points in the fourth quarter.