Atlanta (0-1) at Cleveland (1-0)
When: Wednesday, May 4th 2016
Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
Time: 8:05 ET | TV: TNT
The Cleveland Cavaliers look to win their 10th straight postseason game against the Atlanta Hawks when the teams meet in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series on Wednesday. The Cavs made it nine straight against the Hawks in Game 1 with a 104-93 victory led by of course – LeBron James. Cleveland let an 18-point third quarter lead evaporate, but turned it on in the fourth and pulled away for the win and cover (-7.5). James had an all-around terrific game with 25 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and five steals. Kyrie Irving contributed 21 points and eight assists while Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson both pulled down double-digit rebounds. Love tweaked his left shoulder late in the game, but the injury appears minor. The Cavaliers’ defense held Atlanta to 37.9% shooting.
Open an Account at Bovada Sportsbook Now! Sign up at Bovada.lv to get up to a $250 Deposit Bonus and to bet all the Web’s best NBA Basketball odds and props!
Atlanta got a fantastic game out of backup point guard Dennis Schroder, who had a playoff career-best 27 points of the bench and made five of Atlanta’s 11 three-pointers. Jeff Teague (eight points on 2-of-9 shooting) and Kyle Korver (three points, 0-of-1 shooting) were terrible and the Hawks will need more out of them if they are to have any chance. Al Horford had just 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting in the opener, marking the fourth time in seven postseason games that he has scored 10 or fewer points. Paul Millsap, who had 45 points in Game 4 of the Boston series, hasn’t broken the 20-point barrier in his last three contests and is 0-for-6 from long range in his last two. Kent Bazemore had his fifth double-digit rebound game of the season with 12, but shot 3-of-10 from the floor.
This series is all Cleveland. The Cavaliers didn’t play their best in Game 1 as most teams like to feel-out a series. Cleveland should roll tonight and take a 2-0 lead back to Atlanta.
Pick: Cavaliers -7
