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The Daily Sweat: A Game 2 loss means the Clippers will have to do what no NBA team has ever done

A loss Thursday night means the Los Angeles Clippers will be attempting to do what no other team in NBA history has accomplished.

The Clippers enter Thursday night’s Game 2 against the Utah Jazz as three-point underdogs at BetMGM and down 1-0 in the series after the Jazz won 112-109 on Tuesday night. A loss on Thursday would put the Jazz up 2-0 before the series shifts to Los Angeles.

A 2-0 deficit would be a familiar sight for the Clips. Los Angeles was down 2-0 to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs before coming back to tie the series after Game 4 and ultimately winning it in seven games.

That series win was the 28th time in 430 series that started 2-0 that the trailing team had come back to win the series. Teams up 2-0 win over 93% of the time. The Clippers are already an outlier. And they’d be the outlier if Utah wins Thursday night and Los Angeles ultimately wins the series.

No team in NBA history has won multiple series in a postseason after trailing 2-0. The Denver Nuggets came back from 3-1 deficits in two series in 2020 — including one over the Clippers — but the Nuggets had won one of the first two games in both those series.

That history makes it almost imperative that Los Angeles wins on Thursday night. And it’s tempting to take the Clippers plus the points. Especially if you’re a fan of the Clippers at +180 to win the series against the Jazz.

Los Angeles lost its season series 2-1 to the Jazz but split the two games both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard played in. The Jazz could be without Mike Conley again in Game 2 and Royce O’Neale can’t guard both George and Leonard at the same time.

Our bet would be the Clippers and the points along with a bet at +425 that Los Angeles will win by five or fewer points. This game should be close again. And this time LA should have enough to even the series.

The PGA Tour at Congaree

The PGA Tour is at Congaree for the first time for the Palmetto Championship. Brooks Koepka is the favored golfer of bettors as over 9% of the tickets at BetMGM are on him. The most money is on Dustin Johnson. Over 6% of tickets are on DJ yet over 17% of the money wagered on the tournament is on Johnson.

Koepka tees off just before 1 p.m. CT. He’s +333 to birdie the first hole, +500 to make an eagle — there are three par 5s on the front nine — and -110 to shoot 5-under or better.

Get your late Euro 2020 bets in

We’ve been previewing all the betting angles for Euro 2020 over the past week and it’s time to make your wagers ahead of the tournament that begins Friday. There’s plenty to bet on and the tournament is a fantastic introduction to soccer betting for people who haven’t been interested in wagering on the most popular sport in the world.

BetMGM is also running a $25,000 predictor challenge for Euro 2020. If you get all 10 predictions correct, you can win a nice sum of cash. It's worth a try.

A friendly flier

If you want to get an early start on some soccer betting, make a bet on a friendly between Estonia and Latvia, two teams that aren't qualified for Euro 2020. We like over 2.5 goals in the game at +140.

Trust the Avalanche?

The Colorado Avalanche are trying to avoid a 4-2 series defeat to the Las Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night. Colorado went up 2-0 in the first two games and has promptly lost three-straight to Vegas. A win means Colorado comes back home for Game 7.

There’s a reason to like Colorado +1.5 goals even if you’re not sure about the Avalanche on the moneyline. Two of Colorado’s three losses to Vegas have been by a single goal and Game 5 was an overtime win for the Knights. Colorado should put up a fight; just beware of a late cover by Las Vegas if Colorado has to go with an empty net late in the game.

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