PREMIUM
**$20 TUESDAY!** Rogers' 10* TOP TOTALS TICKET ~ 4-0 Monday! +$28K in May!
(NBA) Boston vs. Cleveland,
Total: 216.00 | -109.00 Under
Result: Loss
Total: 216.00 | -109.00 Under
Result: Loss
The set-up: With no Issiah Thomas and facing a 21-point third quarter deficit, the Celtics clawed their way back against the Cavs in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday in Cleveland. Incredibly, LBJ was held without a point over the game's final 16 1/2 minutes and when Avery Bradley's three-point bounced on the rim and fell in with 0.1 seconds left in the game, Boston had an improbable 111-108 victory. The top-seeded Celtics broke the Cavaliers' record-tying 13-game postseason winning streak and limited red-hot forward LeBron James to 11 points, his fourth-lowest output in 210 career playoff games. According to cleveland.com, LBJ's teams are 1-10 in the playoffs when he scores 15 or fewer points. However, LBJ is 20-0 in playoff series in which his team won the first two games,and the Cavaliers are 14-0 in those sets. James hasn't lost a playoff series against an Eastern team since the second round in 2010, when the Celtics knocked out Cleveland in six games.
Boston: "We were playing way better. I don't know how to phrase it other than that - we were playing way better," Boston head coach Brad Stevens told reporters of the difference between Sunday's win and a 44-point loss in Game 2. "We were getting good shots on offense and playing with great purpose, and on defense I thought we were much better than the score indicated. I think that when you play better, you feel better." Marcus Smart was a non-factor by averaging five points on 2-of-11 shooting over the first two games but he was 7-of-10 from three-point range while producing 27 points and seven assists in Game 3. Kelly Olynyk, a hero for Boston in Game 7 against Washington with 26 points, had scored just two points (on 1 of 8 shooting) in the first two games but had 15 points on Sunday. Avery Bradley scored 20 points and made the game-winning three-pointer.
Cleveland: "I had a tough game, period," James told reporters. "I didn't have it. That's all I've got to say about my performance." LBJ entered Sunday on a tear with eight consecutive 30-point efforts, averaging 34.3 points before he basically disappeared in the second half by missing eight of nine shots and finishing 4-of-13 from the floor. "No blame," head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters. "We're all to blame. We lost; it happens. For a guy who played great for five straight months, he's got to have a bad game sooner or later. He's human. He didn't shoot the ball well. It wasn't his ordinary game." The Cavs have to be thrilled about Kevin Love's play, as the PF has three straight double-doubles, averaging 27.0 & 11.3 in the series while making 17-of-31 three-point attempts.Kyrie had a poor Game 1 but has averaged 26.0 PPG the last two on 18 of 26 shooting. Center Tristan Thompson is averaging 15.0 & 8.0 in the series.
The pick: Boston trailed 2-0 in the first round against Chicago, but won the next four. However, the Cavs AIN'T the Bulls! No one expects Smart and Olynyk to repeat their Game 3 performances and EVERYONE expects LBJ will bounce back. Still, Cleveland could sure use a better (any?) effort from its bench, after Cleveland reserves scored only nine points in Game 3. The pointspread is understandably high but the over/under number is well within reach. Make the Over a 10* play.
Boston: "We were playing way better. I don't know how to phrase it other than that - we were playing way better," Boston head coach Brad Stevens told reporters of the difference between Sunday's win and a 44-point loss in Game 2. "We were getting good shots on offense and playing with great purpose, and on defense I thought we were much better than the score indicated. I think that when you play better, you feel better." Marcus Smart was a non-factor by averaging five points on 2-of-11 shooting over the first two games but he was 7-of-10 from three-point range while producing 27 points and seven assists in Game 3. Kelly Olynyk, a hero for Boston in Game 7 against Washington with 26 points, had scored just two points (on 1 of 8 shooting) in the first two games but had 15 points on Sunday. Avery Bradley scored 20 points and made the game-winning three-pointer.
Cleveland: "I had a tough game, period," James told reporters. "I didn't have it. That's all I've got to say about my performance." LBJ entered Sunday on a tear with eight consecutive 30-point efforts, averaging 34.3 points before he basically disappeared in the second half by missing eight of nine shots and finishing 4-of-13 from the floor. "No blame," head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters. "We're all to blame. We lost; it happens. For a guy who played great for five straight months, he's got to have a bad game sooner or later. He's human. He didn't shoot the ball well. It wasn't his ordinary game." The Cavs have to be thrilled about Kevin Love's play, as the PF has three straight double-doubles, averaging 27.0 & 11.3 in the series while making 17-of-31 three-point attempts.Kyrie had a poor Game 1 but has averaged 26.0 PPG the last two on 18 of 26 shooting. Center Tristan Thompson is averaging 15.0 & 8.0 in the series.
The pick: Boston trailed 2-0 in the first round against Chicago, but won the next four. However, the Cavs AIN'T the Bulls! No one expects Smart and Olynyk to repeat their Game 3 performances and EVERYONE expects LBJ will bounce back. Still, Cleveland could sure use a better (any?) effort from its bench, after Cleveland reserves scored only nine points in Game 3. The pointspread is understandably high but the over/under number is well within reach. Make the Over a 10* play.
