The Cleveland Cavaliers will be looking to extend their current win streak to four games when they close out a three-game homestand on Friday against the free falling Phoenix Suns.
Buoyed by an impressive 35-point performance from LeBron James, Cleveland overcame a 15-point halftime deficit to post an entertaining 132-129 victory over the visiting Toronto Raptors as a 2-point underdog on the NBA odds on Wednesday, and has now topped 120 points on three occasions during the 4-1 straight-up run it takes into Friday night’s Suns vs. Cavaliers betting matchup at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs opened as 14.5-point favorites.
The Cavaliers’ current five-game tear kicked off with a 129-107 win in Phoenix on March 13 as 8-point betting favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com, and put the brakes on a middling 4-6 SU run that virtually eliminated the club from contention for top spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
Cleveland also covered in each of the first two dates on its current homestand, including Monday night’s 124-117 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks as a 2.5-point favorite on the NBA odds, and has now posted against the spread victories in three straight home dates for the first time since February 2017.
Despite their recent turnaround, the Cavaliers continue to give up big point totals, surrendering 100 or more points in eight straight outings, and an average of 115.75 points per game during that stretch. That has generated a 5-1 run for the OVER in totals betting, according to the OddsShark NBA Database. In addition, the OVER has gone 10-3 over Cleveland’s past 13 SU victories.
With just two SU wins in their past 26 contests, the Suns limp into town sporting an NBA-worst 19-53 record. Phoenix has been regularly blown out during its current nine-game SU losing streak, falling by double-digit margins on six occasions, including Tuesday night’s 115-88 loss to the Detroit Pistons as a 7.5-point home underdog.
The Suns have also fallen short of 90 points in four of their past eight road dates as double-digit underdogs, but tallied a respectable 4-4 ATS record during that stretch. Phoenix has also fallen in six straight meetings with the Cavaliers, including three defeats in Cleveland, capped by a 118-103 loss as an 11.5-point underdog in its last visit to the shores of Lake Erie in January of last year.