CAVS RIP HAWKS TO OPEN UP 2-0 SERIES LEAD

A second round playoff victory shouldn’t be as easy as it was for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.  The Cavs opened up a 36 point third quarter lead, rested their starters in the fourth quarter and coasted to a 105-85 victory over the Atlanta Hawks at the Quicken Loans Arena.  Cleveland is now a perfect 6-0 in the post season both straight up and against the spread, and tied an NBA record by winning their sixth straight playoff games by double digits.  They also matched a mark set by the 1986 Los Angeles Lakers by winning their third straight game by twenty points or more.

The only drama in the game was found in a sports gambling context—what looked in the third quarter to be an easy Cleveland pointspread cover when the Cavs were leading by 36 points got very tenuous in the final period.  The Hawks reserves badly outplayed their Cleveland counterparts in ‘garbage time’ and cut the lead to 15 with just over two minutes to play.  This put Atlanta within striking range of the -13 pointspread and a potential ‘backdoor cover’, but the Cavs ended the game strong to secure the victory for their ‘financial backers’.  The late Hawks run also served to put the game OVER the 181’ total, marking only the second time in the playoffs that the defensively tenacious Cavs have exceeded the posted total.  The Hawks dropped to 4-5 ATS during the playoffs, and went OVER for only the third time in nine postseason games.

LeBron James led Cleveland with 27 points despite not playing at all during the fourth quarter.  Wally Szczerbiak contributed 17 points off the bench, while Mo Williams (15 points), Delonte West (14 points) and Anderson Varejao (12 points) posted double digit scoring totals for the Cavs.  Atlanta was led by 16 points from Maurice Evans, with Thomas Gardner coming off the bench to score 12 in fourth quarter ‘garbage time’.  Mike Bibby (11 points) and Joe Johnson (10 points) were the only other Hawks to score in double digits.

After the game, LeBron commented on the game and his team’s strong playoff performance to date:

“I'm having fun. I'm having a ball. I don't want to say I'm surprised. We're just a really good team. We're really confident and we believe in each other."

The Hawks may have to play game three without shooting guard Joe Johnson.  Johnson rolled his ankle in the third quarter and did not return.  X-rays were negative, but he’s listed as ‘doubtful’ for Saturday’s game.  Despite the grim prognosis, he insists that he’ll be in the lineup:

"I can't see me not playing. I don't want to let this opportunity go by. We're down 0-2. I want to be out there for my teammates. Hopefully in 48 hours it will feel a lot better."

Game three will take place at Atlanta’s Phillips Arena on Saturday night.  The Cavs have been installed as a -8 point road favorite, with the total posted at 180.  While the Hawks have covered five of their last seven as home underdogs, it’ll take a lot of courage to step in against this steamrolling Cavs squad.