Golden State Betting Favourites to Take 2-0 Lead in NBA Finals
After stealing a 108-100 win in Game 1 of the NBA Finals with a dominant overtime performance, the Golden State Warriors will be looking to take a 2-0 series lead over Cleveland on Sunday night, when they tip off in Game 2 against the Cavaliers as strong eight-point favourites in NBA betting at Coral.
The Cavaliers came within a missed shot at the buzzer of handing the Warriors a rare loss on their home floor on Thursday in a seesaw battle that saw the lead change hands 15 times, including four times in the fourth quarter.
Early in the game, the Cavaliers had built a 13-point lead. But with the bench contributing 34 points on the night, GSW battled back to cut the lead to three points at recess, before briefly reclaiming the lead in the fourth quarter.
Lebron James led all shooters on the night, tallying 44 points on the night including 23 in the second half. However, James received little help from the Cavs’ supporting cast, with Cleveland’s bench accounting for a mere nine points, and just two of his teammates recording points in the second half.
The Cavaliers’ problems were compounded in overtime, when they managed to set a dubious NBA Finals record by scoring just two points. Things got even worse when it was announced that point guard Kyrie Irving would miss the remainder of the season after fracturing his kneecap on the floor in the fourth quarter.
While the loss of Irving is a devastating blow for the Cavaliers, who are also without star Kevin Love, sidelined with a season-ending shoulder injury during the first round, it is not expected to severely impact Cleveland’s NBA Finals betting odds at Coral’s sportsbook.
When Irving missed a pair of games with an injury to the same knee during Cleveland’s Eastern Conference Finals series against the Atlanta Hawks, the Cavaliers responded with a team effort, earning a pair of crucial SU wins including one while pegged as underdogs in basketball betting at Coral.
But with just one win in their last four contests at Oracle Arena, the Cavs face an uphill battle against the Warriors, who are an incredible 47-3 SU at home this season.
Cleveland has tumbled to a distant 9/2 in NBA series betting at Coral, while the Warriors now see their already short odds climb to 1/7 after opening the series as 4/9 favourites.
The Warriors’ Stephen Curry, who picked up 26 points in Golden State’s Game 1 victory, remains the heavy favourite to be named NBA Finals MVP, with short 1/5 odds in NBA futures betting at Coral, while James trails at a distant 10/3, followed by Curry’s fellow Smash Brother Klay Thompson, with 12/1 odds.
