Kyrie Irving Will Return For Cavaliers Vs. Celtics On Tuesday

The Cleveland Cavaliers will no doubt be glad to be home on Tuesday night as the Cavs enter their game against Boston on a two-game winning streak, both on the road. Cleveland is a 12.5-point favorite on Sportsbook.ag, the largest spread of Tuesday's action.

LeBron Likely Motivated

Expect a big game from LeBron James because he personally accepted blame for Sunday's 105-103 overtime loss in Houston. He missed a pair of free throws with 4.2 seconds left. James finished with 37 points after resting during Friday night's 93-86 loss at Indiana. He was 3-for-11 from the free throw line against the Rockets. It's the worst free throw percentage in his career with at least 10 attempts, including the postseason. It's just the 9th time in James' career that he shot below 50 percent from the line with at least attempts. His eight missed free throws tied the second-most in his career. It was the first time in his NBA career -- regular season or playoffs -- that LeBron missed more than one potential game-tying or go-ahead free throws in the final 10 seconds of the 4th quarter or overtime of a single game

Kevin Love had 21 points for the Cavaliers, who played their second game without point guard Kyrie Irving, who has a left shoulder strain. Irving seems likely to return here, according to Coach David Blatt. The Rockets loss ended Cleveland's 10-game winning streak against the Western Conference and prevented the Cavs from moving into first in the Central Division.

Boston blew a 26-point lead on Sunday and lost 106-101 at home to Golden State. Isaiah Thomas scored 20 points off the bench for Boston, which had its three-game winning streak snapped. The Celtics led 56-30 midway through the second quarter. Jae Crowder had a career-high 17 rebounds to go with his nine points, but his 3-pointer with a chance to give Boston the lead with under a minute left rolled around the rim and out.

Cavs Unbeatable At Home

The Cavs are 8-3 against the Atlantic Division this season, which includes a 122-121 victory in the first meeting against the Celtics on Nov. 14. In that win, the Cavs overcame a 19-point fourth quarter deficit by using a 38-18 run in the final frame to pick up victory. The last time Cleveland overcame a fourth quarter deficit by that much was March 10, 2009 against the L.A. Clippers (also a 19-point deficit). Cleveland has won a season-high 11 straight games at Quicken Loans Arena, outscoring foes by an average of 14.8 points (108.7-93.9). It is their longest home streak since an 11-game home winning streak from Feb. 23-Apr. 6, 2010. The Cavs have also won by double figures in 10 of their last 11 games at The Q, while outshooting their opponents .479 to .404. The last time Cleveland had a 12-game winning streak at The Q was Feb. 11-Apr. 12, 2009 (16 straight home wins). At The Q this season, the Cavs are a perfect 18-0 when scoring at least 100 points (30-5 overall), a perfect 11-0 when shooting .500 or better from the field (15-0 overall).

Key betting trends: Cavaliers are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game. Cavaliers are 10-1 ATS in their last 11 home games. Cavaliers are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 home games vs. a team with a losing road record. Cavaliers are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS loss. Celtics are 8-0 ATS in their last 8 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record. Celtics are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall. Celtics are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 vs. Eastern Conference. Celtics are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.

Category : Betting Picks

Tag : boston celtics , cleveland cavaliers , kyrie irving , nba odds

More articles...