Toronto (0-1) at Cleveland (1-0)
When: Wednesday, May 3rd 2017
Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
Time: 7:05 ET | TV: TNT
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The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to stay undefeated this postseason when they host the Toronto Raptors for Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Wednesday night. LeBron James poured in 35 points, Kyrie Irving added 24 and the Cavs picked up where they left off following a long layoff and handled the Raptors 116-105 in the opener of their best-of-seven series. The Cavaliers hadn’t played since April 23rd, when they completed a four-game sweep of the Indiana Pacers, but they showed no signs of rust and were well prepared for the revenge seeking Raptors, who lost to Cleveland in last year’s Eastern Conference finals. Cleveland’s big lead was cut to seven in the third quarter before James took over. He nailed a 3-pointer, converted a three-point play, drained another 3, and then considered swigging a beer on the sidelines. James needs just 25 points to pass Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (5,762 points) for second place on the all-time postseason scoring list. Center Tristan Thompson recorded 14 rebounds in Game 1 to raise his playoff average to 11.6 and he has reached double digits in all five of Cleveland’s playoff games.
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The Raptors know all about the onslaught that Cleveland can dish out, as they were outscored by 28.5 points in the Cavaliers four victories in last year’s Eastern Conference finals. Kyle Lowry scored 20 points and dished out 11 assists for his second double-double of the playoffs, while DeMar DeRozan added 19, as the Raptors fell to 1-12 all time in playoff openers. “We’ve just got to play defense and not let them go up and down and do what they do, play defense for 48 minutes,” Lowry told reporters after Game 1. “We got to find ways to limit their spurts.” The Raptors trailed by 22 points after three quarters and cutting the deficit in half in a quarter in which the outcome was long decided, left an impression on DeRozan. “We already got that foot in the hole and that’s where we kick in and understand we fight well under adversity.” Small forward P.J. Tucker scored 13 points and grabbed 11 boards off the bench for his first double-double since February 13th. The Raptors had the edge in points in the paint in Game 1 (44-36), but must do a better job of guarding the perimeter.
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These teams might have had identical regular season records, but the Cavaliers are a far superior team. Lowry seems to have put his postseason woes behind him, but it won’t be enough to compete with Cleveland in this series, especially on the road. Look for another double-digit victory.
Pick: Cavaliers -7.5
ATS TRENDS
| Toronto |
- Raptors are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a straight up loss.
- Raptors are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
- Raptors are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up loss of more than 10 points.
- Raptors are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
- Raptors are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 road games.
- Raptors are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games following a ATS loss.
- Raptors are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
- Raptors are 24-11-1 ATS in their last 36 Wednesday games.
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| Cleveland |
- Cavaliers are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 Conference Semifinals games.
- Cavaliers are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up win.
- Cavaliers are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 vs. NBA Atlantic.
- Cavaliers are 11-5-3 ATS in their last 19 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
- Cavaliers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games.
- Cavaliers are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
- Cavaliers are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games playing on 1 days rest.
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OU TRENDS
| Toronto |
- Over is 4-0 in Raptors last 4 Conference Semifinals games.
- Under is 5-0 in Raptors last 5 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Under is 9-2 in Raptors last 11 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
- Under is 4-1 in Raptors last 5 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Over is 4-1 in Raptors last 5 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
- Under is 4-1 in Raptors last 5 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Over is 15-5 in Raptors last 20 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
- Under is 15-5 in Raptors last 20 games following a ATS loss.
- Under is 19-7 in Raptors last 26 road games.
- Under is 19-7 in Raptors last 26 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Under is 10-4 in Raptors last 14 games following a straight up loss.
- Under is 7-3 in Raptors last 10 Wednesday games.
- Over is 29-13 in Raptors last 42 games following a straight up loss of more than 10 points.
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| Cleveland |
- Over is 8-1 in Cavaliers last 9 home games.
- Over is 5-1 in Cavaliers last 6 games playing on 1 days rest.
- Over is 4-1 in Cavaliers last 5 overall.
- Under is 4-1 in Cavaliers last 5 Wednesday games.
- Over is 8-2 in Cavaliers last 10 games following a straight up win.
- Over is 21-6-1 in Cavaliers last 28 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Under is 6-2 in Cavaliers last 8 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
- Over is 6-2 in Cavaliers last 8 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Over is 21-8-1 in Cavaliers last 30 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Over is 10-4-1 in Cavaliers last 15 vs. NBA Atlantic.
- Over is 32-13-1 in Cavaliers last 46 vs. Eastern Conference.
- Over is 37-18-1 in Cavaliers last 56 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
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HEAD TO HEAD
- Favorite is 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings.
- Raptors are 2-5 ATS in the last 7 meetings.
- Raptors are 2-5 ATS in the last 7 meetings in Cleveland.
- Road team is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings.
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