Big holiday weekend means big chances to win

Both Dallas and Boston won, extending a pair of conference finals beyond four games — what a concept! Let's dig into both for Saturday and how we might be approaching them for our bets.

Boston-Miami Game 6

All the momentum is certainly on the Boston side, and the pressure only starts to mount more on the Miami end as they look to avoid squandering a 3-0 series lead.

Can the Celtics actually pull this off? They've dominated the past two games as their shots started to fall, and they looked better-coached than we've seen them up to this point. 

Jimmy Butler said afterward that Miami "can and will win this series" and we wouldn't expect anything less from the Heat star. Miami does feel likely to mix things up defensively, and the potential return of Gabe Vincent after he missed Game 5 would certainly help on both ends.

We're all for the Celtics forcing a Game 7, but we have a feeling the recipe that has helped put the Heat in this position comes through on Saturday, and we're a sucker for loading up the home 'dogs in the playoffs.

Betting: Miami moneyline (+125 DK)

Dallas-Vegas Game 5

On the ice, the Western Conference Finals heads back to Vegas following Dallas' spirited Game 4 effort. The valiant Stars avoided the sweep, but we're still a bit wary of putting too many eggs in their basket this weekend.

Vegas has gone 6-2 at home this postseason, winning both previous Game 5s that have returned to their home arena. The Golden Knights have been stouter defensively too on home ice, allowing fewer shots on average.

Dallas has dropped three straight road games and owns just a 3-5 record away from home in these playoffs. The Golden Knights seem likely to take this one, but there should be a solid expectation of scoring coming.

All eight Vegas home games have seen 5+ goals, and all eight Dallas road games have also hit at least five goals scored. We like the Golden Knights to win, but based on their price we need to pair it with something else.

Betting:

• Vegas moneyline
• Over 4.5 goals

Together, that comes in at +120 on DraftKings.

In the news ...

Celtics force Game 6 after going down 0-3 — Boston led from the jump and never looked back, cruising to a 110-97 win in Game 5 at home. Four Celtics scored 20+ points as the team found success from deep, and the series now heads back to Miami for Game 6. Just like that, books have started favoring Boston again in the futures market. The Celtics are +295 to win the NBA Finals and Miami is +550.

Stars avoid sweep, force Game 5 — Jason Robertson came out ripping and Joe Pavelski delivered an OT winner, and the Dallas Stars live to see another day. The series now heads back to Vegas for Game 5 with the Golden Knights one win away from advancing to their second Stanley Cup Final. The Knights are -1000 to win the series and the Stars are +650.

NCAAM lacrosse Final Four this weekend — We're down to four in the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships. The Final Four is set for Saturday, and the final will be held on Memorial Day. The first game of the weekend will be top-seeded Duke vs. No. 5 Penn State, followed by No. 2 Virginia vs. No. 3 Notre Dame. There isn't necessarily a powerhouse like we've seen in past seasons, as each of the remaining teams has at least two losses. Duke is favored by four over Penn State, and Virginia is the slight 1.5-point favorites over Notre Dame.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll