Kevin Durant and Dirk Nowitzki could potentially meet in the first round of the playoffs in a few weeks, but the Mavs need to secure their spot first. A win over the Thunder tonight would certainly help their chances. The Raptors are also in need of a win over the Cavs to keep their necks in front of Chicago in the race for the No. 3 seed in the East.
Toronto Raptors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (7:00 PM EST)
Line: Toronto Raptors (-4) at Cleveland Cavaliers (+4); Total: 220.0 (View Lines Here)
Betting on the Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers snapped the New York Knicks’ eight-game winning run on Sunday to bring their own four-game losing skid to an end. The Cavs came back from 17 points down in the first half, thanks to the backcourt duo of Jarrett Jack and Dion Waiters combining for exactly half of the team’s 106 points.
Waiters is averaging 26 PPG in his last three games to pick up the scoring slack for the Cavs, who are still without star point guard Kyrie Irving.
The Cavs are just 3-4 SU in their last seven games, but are an impressive 6-1 ATS. Six of those seven games were against teams above .500.
Betting on Toronto Raptors
The Raptors finally plugged up their leaky defense in Sunday’s 96-86 win over the Hawks. In the four games prior, Toronto (6th in points allowed at 97.7) went just 1-3 SU after allowing 118 or more points in the three losses to the Suns, Hawks and Thunder.
Kyle Lowry is having his best month of the season this March. The point guard is averaging 21 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists while backcourt mate DeMar DeRozan is averaging 24-4-4.
The Raptors are 5-1 SU/ATS in their last six road games vs. the Cavs and are 2-0 SU in the three-game season series. They won by seven points at home and by six in Cleveland.
Prediction
Toronto’s superior backcourt is playing out of its mind right now and should power the Raptors toward a season sweep of the Cavs while covering the 4-point spread.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Dallas Mavericks (8:00 PM EST)
Line: Toronto Raptors (-4) at Cleveland Cavaliers (+4); Total: 220.0 (View Lines Here)
Betting on the Oklahoma City Thunder
[sc:NBA240banner ]The Thunder cruised to their fourth straight win last night with a comfortable 117-96 victory over the Denver Nuggets. Kevin Durant had 27 points in just three quarters and Reggie Jackson had 16 and 11 assists in his return to the starting line-up.
Free agent pick-up Caron Butler also added 23 points, his highest scoring game since signing with the Thunder earlier this month.
OKC is now 6-1 SU/5-1-1 ATS in its last 7 games and 5-0 SU/4-1 ATS in its last five visits to Dallas.
Betting on the Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks lost a second close overtime game in a week after falling to the Brooklyn Nets 107-104 on Sunday. The loss drops Dallas to just 2-2 SU and 1-3 ATS in the first four games of their six-game home stand.
Dirk Nowitzki (20 PPG in March) is once again leading the way for a Mavs offense that has topped 100 points in all but two games so far this March. The Mavs shot 53% and nailed 13 three-pointers as they defeated the Thunder 109-86 in OKC earlier this month.
Prediction
Kevin Durant and the Thunder will exploit the Mavs’ defensive frailties to extend their winning streak to five games.
