Only two more quarters stand between the Cavaliers and the victory they were favored to collect coming into this evening. Sitting on a score of 65-55, they have looked like the better team, but there’s still two more quarters to play.
If the Cavaliers keep playing like this, they’ll bump their record up to 17-1 in no time. On the other hand, the Raptors will have to make due with a 4-13 record unless they turn things around (and fast).
Toronto Raptors @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Current Records: Toronto 4-12, Cleveland 16-1
The Cavaliers will be playing the full four quarters on Sunday, but they’re expected to have things wrapped up well before that. Armed with a few days’ rest, they will face off against the Toronto Raptors at 7:30 p.m. ET at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The timing is sure in the Cavaliers’ favor as the team sits on nine straight wins at home while the Raptors have been banged up by 11 consecutive losses on the road dating back to last season.
The Cavaliers will head into Wednesday’s match on the come-up: they were handed a three-point loss in their last contest, but they sure didn’t let that happen against the Pelicans on Wednesday. The Cavaliers blew past the Pelicans 128-100. Cleveland pushed the score to 105-73 by the end of the third, a deficit New Orleans cut but never quite recovered from.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead the Cavaliers to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jarrett Allen, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 11 rebounds. What’s more, Allen also racked up six offensive rebounds, the most he’s had since back in April. Jaylon Tyson was another key player, dropping a double-double on 16 points and 11 rebounds.
The Cavaliers were working as a unit and finished the game with 29 assists. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they’ve now posted at least 25 assists in six consecutive games.
Meanwhile, the Raptors didn’t have too much breathing room in their matchup against the Timberwolves on Thursday, but they still walked away with a 110-105 victory.
RJ Barrett was the offensive standout of the contest as he went 10 for 14 en route to 31 points plus seven rebounds and three steals. The match was his third in a row with at least 30 points.
Cleveland’s win bumped their record up to 16-1. As for Toronto, their victory bumped their record up to 4-12.
Sunday’s game is shaping up to be a scrappy matchup: The Cavaliers haven’t given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 12.2 turnovers per game (they’re ranked fifth in turnovers per game overall). It’s a different story for the Raptors, though, as they’ve been averaging 16.1. Given the Cavaliers’ sizable advantage in that area, the Raptors will need to find a way to close that gap.
The Cavaliers took their win against the Raptors when the teams last played back in October by a conclusive 136-106. In that contest, the Cavaliers amassed a halftime lead of 69-49, an impressive feat they’ll look to repeat on Sunday.
Cleveland is a big 12-point favorite against Toronto, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Cavaliers as a 12.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 236.5 points.
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