The Golden State Warriors appeared to put their late-season struggles behind them as they forged a pair of dominant performances against the San Antonio Spurs in their first-round NBA playoff series. Now, Golden State has a chance to take full control of the series with a victory in Game 3 on Thursday night (9:30 p.m. ET) in San Antonio.

The Warriors are four-point favorites in this 2018 NBA playoffs game and the over-under for total points scored is 206.5.

For optimal analysis on this matchup, you need to hear from SportsLine expert Galin Dragiev. The accomplished NBA handicapper was SportsLine's No. 1 analyst during the regular season and entered the playoffs on a 16-6 run.

His consistent success is a byproduct of knowing when to back or fade a club in a given contest. For example, on Wednesday he advised SportsLine readers that Minnesota would be unable to handle Houston if the Rockets got a better performance from Chris Paul, who struggled in Game 1.

He recommend laying the big number (-10) against the Timberwolves and, sure enough, Paul stepped up with 27 points and eight assists in Houston's 102-82 victory. Now, he has released a strong pick for Thursday.

Dragiev knows the Warriors have won the first two games of the series by 36 combined points while covering lofty spreads in each. They overcame a six-point halftime deficit in Game 2 for a 116-101 win after dominating Game 1 from the outset.

The Spurs have shot just a shade better than 40 percent from the field in the series, while going a woeful 13 of 50 from 3-point range.

San Antonio stayed close in Game 2 by repeatedly getting to the basket and hitting 27 of 30 free-throw attempts, but it wasn't enough to stave off a breakout second half from the Warriors.

Kevin Durant sparked a decisive third-quarter run and finished with 32 points, while Klay Thompson went for 31 points and five assists. JaVale McGee had another strong game at center with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge stepped up with 34 points and 12 boards, but he had little in the way of consistent help. Patty Mills had 21 points and Rudy Gay added 12.

Now, the venue change to AT&T Center is one the Spurs hope will result in an inspired performance and a much-needed win to shift momentum in the series.

Will the Warriors keep up their postseason surge and cover, or will the Spurs thrive as a home underdog? Visit SportsLine now to get the winning side of Game 3 in the Warriors-Spurs series Thursday from the top-rated NBA handicapper.