Home teams undefeated in dominant showing early in NBA Playoffs

Home teams are cleaning up during the early going of the NBA Playoffs. Through 11 first round games, teams are undefeated on their home floors and 8-3 against the spread heading into Tuesday’s playoff action. Going back to the play-in tournament, home teams are a whopping 16-1 straight up, with the only loss being the Pelicans to the Lakers in New Orleans during the opening Western Conference play-in game for the No.7 seed. It’s the first time since 2004 that the home team has won the first 11 games in the first round of the NBA playoffs.It’s also the first time all eight first-round Game 1s have gone the home team’s way since 2013. According to Action Network, a bettor who put a $100 moneyline bet on every home team would be up $905 so far.Those wins didn’t come easy though. On Saturday, the Knicks trailed entering the fourth quarter before out-scoring the 76ers by ten in the final period to secure the win. One day later, the Thunder barely pulled off a 94-92 win over the Pelicans in Oklahoma City.And that was all before Monday night’s wild doubleheader on TNT between Knicks-76ers and Nuggets-Lakers. The Knicks pulled off a miracle in Game 2, overcoming a five-point deficit with under 30 seconds left in the game, capped off by a clutch three-point from Donte DiVincenzo with 13 seconds to go. In the nightcap, the Nuggets defended their home court with a 20-point comeback win, finished off with a buzzer-beater from Jamal Murray to earn the 2-0 first-round series lead.The Timberwolves will try to keep the home streak alive against the Suns at 7:30 p.m.

in Minnesota, the first of three games on Tuesday night....