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With their backs against the wall, the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks (8-6 SU, 5-9 ATS) look to get back in the Eastern Conference final with the Cleveland Cavaliers (10-2 SU, 7-5 ATS) Sunday. You can watch the game live on TNT.
The Hawks haven’t looked anything like the team that steamrolled through the Eastern Conference winning a franchise record 60 games and they picked a horrible time to lose consecutive home games for the first time all season. The Hawks are 3-1 in their last four postseason road games and with their backs squarely against the wall they’ll need another solid road effort to stay in the series.
Cleveland heads home up two games to none in the Eastern Conference final following its 94-82 win Friday in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score would indicate. The Cavs played without Kyrie Irving and still dominated the top-seed in the conference for their fifth straight win with four coming on the road. Teams that go up 2-0 in a best-of-seven series have won 94 percent of the time, so things look good for the Cavs.
KEY INJURY
Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving was a late scratch from Friday’s game due to tendinitis in his left knee and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game. Atlanta’s DeMarre Carroll was able to play Friday after suffering a scary knee injury in Game One, but the Hawks lost Kyle Korver with an ankle injury when Matthew Dellavedova rolled on his foot while scrambling for a loose ball late in the third quarter. Korver limped directly to the team’s locker room and didn’t return.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“We’re the big one, one team. You’ve got to be one team. To miss a guy like Kyrie, to miss a guy like Kevin, to miss them both together, the other guys have to raise their level and have to be committed to competing and to believing in themselves as a team. That’s exactly what they’re doing.” – Cavaliers coach David Blatt
BETTING TRENDS
- Atlanta is 1-3 ATS in its last four games overall.
- Cleveland is 3-0 ATS in its last three games overall.
- The UNDER is 4-0 in Atlanta’s last four games overall.
KEY STATS
30: LeBron James poured in a game-high 30 points Friday, his 74th career postseason game with 30 or more tying Jerry West for fourth-most in NBA history.
27: Of the 30 teams to start a best-of-seven playoff series winning the first two games on the road, 27 won the series, including 12 by sweep.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Forget the Big Three. The Great One has been enough for the Cavaliers to sweep the first two games of the Eastern Conference final on the road to take command of the series. And if they play the next two like they did Friday night, the Cavs won’t be returning to Atlanta. Cleveland easily handled the top-seeded Hawks with point guard Kyrie Irving a spectator, after being ruled out with a bum knee. With Kevin Love already shelved with a shoulder injury, LeBron was the one on Friday, tossing in 30 points with 11 rebounds and narrowly missing a triple-double with nine assists. The Cavs showed off their depth with Matthew Dellavedova stepping in for Irving while Tristan Thompson, filling in for Love, terrorized the Hawks in the block again with 16 rebounds.
The Hawks have looked nothing like a top-seed in this series and they may look much different when they take the court Sunday. Three-point artist Kyle Korver had his lower leg and ankle rolled over late in the third quarter Friday and didn’t return while Al Horford also sustained a leg injury in the fourth quarter. Horford did return but was ineffective, as was DeMarre Carroll, who was questionable after he was hurt in Game One. Even when those three weren’t hurt they found it difficult to penetrate the Cavs staunch defense. “In the playoffs it takes more. It takes better execution, better screening. You’ve got to do things harder,” coach Mike Budenholzer said.
The undersized Hawks again had no answer for LeBron and the rest of the Cavs, so it’s back to drawing board. LeBron will get his points and the Hawks recognize that, but they failed to minimize the impact of Iman Shumpert, Matthew Dellavedova and James Jones, who, like JR Smith in Game One, were the biggest influencers. Atlanta failed again to find any rhythm on offense with Paul Millsap struggling and Kyle Korver ineffective before he left the game. The Hawks haven’t given us much reason to think they can win a game let alone the series.
Cleveland 105, Atlanta 97
The NBA odds for this game will first open at BookMaker sportsbook. Gamble on the game between every commercial break with BookMaker’s live betting feature. Along with an adjusted in-game moneyline, you can wager on what will happen on the next play or how many points will be scored in the next half. Live betting is the most exciting way to play!
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! The matchup between the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers will start at 7 p.m. ET on Monday, May 4, 2015, at Quicken Loans Arena. The contest will be broadcast nationally on TNT.
