Tonight's game is the first of the three match points which Cleveland Cavaliers have against Boston Celtics for the third consecutive NBA finals in which they are going to meet the Golden State Warriors.
Everything they need to do is to defeat the Boston Celtics at their TD Garden, and they are on their way for another epic clash.
After Game 4 in which Cavaliers won and where the roles were swapped, comparing to the previous games, this encounter is the first one in which one team actually plays for staying in series, and this guarantees much higher intensity and a greater spectacle.
Cleveland Cavaliers-Boston Celtics Game 4
Cleveland Cavaliers
As we said, in this game, the roles were swapped between the Celtics and the Cavaliers. Cavaliers were the team who performed an incredible comeback and put down a victory in the end. They were very bad in the first half and just couldn't impose their own tempo. James picked up four fouls in the first half, and that is something that never happened to him in his entire professional career. But in the third quarter, Kyrie Irving was the guy who demolished the visitors scoring 21 points in that part of the game, with an almost perfect field goal shooting 9 of 10. Eventually, he delivered 42 points, his playoff high, shooting 15 from 22. Then in the fourth quarter, LeBron woke up and had 15 points, 34 in the whole game. Kevin Love once again dominated under the rims with 17 rebounds and points apiece.
Boston Celtics
The way they opened the game, we thought for just one moment that we are going to have the same situation like in the first round when they lost the first two contests at TD Garden against the Bulls and then defeated them two times, away from their home. Without Isaiah Thomas, the leading man among the Celtics is Avery Bradley who scored 19 points. Jae Crowder had one point less, while Al Horford put down 16 buckets. Kelly Olynyk once again displayed a solid performance coming off the bench with 15 points. The crucial thing was the percentage behind the arc, by their two best players Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley who were shooting combined 2 of 12.
Prediction
The Celtics, although they are playing at home, are a huge underdogs. The handicap on Cleveland Cavaliers is -10, and we think that they are going to win with this difference. Over/Under limit is 215.5 points, and this is something that we believe is too much, and that will go Under. There is no doubt that Celtics are going to have a harsh and aggressive approach in this match and they are going to try to slow down the game, as they do not have a chance if they accept the Cavaliers pace.
Outcome: Cavaliers -10 win
Over/Under: Under 215.5
