The Cleveland Cavaliers did all they could in Game 4 to let everybody know that the defending world champions weren’t dead yet. And they did it with an awful lot of emphasis, scoring 49 points in the first quarter and 86 points in the first half, setting new NBA Finals records for both. And those point totals could have been even better if they hadn’t missed eight free throws in the very first quarter. The 137-116 victory over the Golden State Warriors was a statement all right, but their conundrum is that they have to keep making statements, because they fell behind three games in this championship series, and can’t afford another slip-up. Game 5 will begin at 9 PM ET at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, and if you are a VietBet customer, you can enjoy reduced juice on this game, not to mention real-time wagering through Live Betting Ultra, which features state-of-the-art software.
2017 NBA Finals Odds:
The betting line for Game 5 is up at VietBet, and they have Golden State laying some points:
Golden State Warriors -8.5
Cleveland Cavaliers +8.5
Over 230.5 points -110
Under 230.5 points -110
Warriors win Outright -330
Cavs win Outright +270
VietBet customers will have a chance to choose from among a lot of great proposition odds, not to mention alternative lines for each game of this series, and they are also able to place wagers while the games are underway with the use of Live Betting Ultra and its state-of-the-art software.
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The Cavaliers hit the offensive boards early in the game, and Tristan Thompson, who had kind of disappeared in the first three contests, due in no small part to a Golden State game plan to keep him off the glass, wound up with double-digit rebounds, where he had had garnered only 11 up to that point. Obviously we all know about the abilities of LeBron James, and he is on his way to averaging a triple-double for the series, if that winds up being any consolation. But the Cavaliers have another major-league scorer in Kyrie Irving, the point guard who had been both the #1 choice in the NBA draft and the MVP of the NBA All-Star game. Irving poured in 28 points in very first half and wound up with 40 for the game. And Cleveland went hog-wild with triples, hitting 24 of them, setting – yes – another NBA Finals record, breaking the mark for a team that Golden State had set just two games before.
What Cleveland could really use in this game is some more points from the bench. That group of reserves only provided 23 in the last game, but we know they are capable of a lot more. The Cavaliers undertook the task of adding some three-point shooters after losing in the finals to the Warriors two years ago. And they have people coming off the pines who can hit long-range jumpers. They just have not been all that explosive thus far. Kyle Korver is one of the better three-point shooters in NBA history, and he has not been used all that much, and hasn’t been terribly productive while he’s been in there.
Cleveland will also succeed to a greater extent if they can get the ball moving. They did a horrible job of it in Game 3, with only 17 assists, but they improved to 27 in Game 4. When you can distribute the basketball, you can become a much more difficult team to defend. And it certainly didn’t hurt that JR Smith had five triples in the first quarter, as that took a lot of pressure off Irving. Golden State doesn’t want to be in a situation where they have Steph Curry isolated on defense, because frankly, that is not his strong suit. And Curry, the two-time Most Valuable Player, looked a little rattled in the first quarter, as he missed all five shots while Irving was running wild. If the Cavs can keep him occupied a lot on the defensive end again, and can shoot to within ten percentage points of the 53% they nailed in Game 4, they may have a chance to keep this going for another day.
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