Cleveland Cavaliers at Chicago Bulls (-2, 192.5)
Cavaliers lead series 3-2
LeBron James has placed the Cleveland Cavaliers in position to wrap up the series against Chicago when they travel to face the Bulls in Thursday’s Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. James’ epic Game 5 performance included 38 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and no turnovers to give Cleveland a 3-2 lead.
James sprained his left ankle in Game 4 but didn’t seem to be bothered by the ailment while playing 41 minutes on Tuesday. “LeBron was just outstanding in every element of the game,” Cavaliers coach David Blatt told reporters. “You can’t pick a thing that he didn’t do at the highest level.” Chicago will be looking for point guard Derrick Rose to bounce back from a shaky 16-point outing after scoring 30 or more points in back-to-back contests. Rose tweaked his shoulder and all indications are that the ailment is minor and won’t affect his availability.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
LINE HISTORY: The Bulls opened as -1.5 home faves before shifting up to -2. The total of 192.5 has not moved since opening.
INJURY REPORT: Cavaliers - N/A Bulls - F Pau Gasol (Ques-Hamstring)
DANCE TEAM WAR:
ABOUT THE BULLS: Power forward Pau Gasol (hamstring) has missed the last two games and the club is confident that he will return for Game 6. Chicago has missed a big piece of its attack with Gasol sidelined as role player Taj Gibson isn’t up to the task of picking up the slack. “I think (Gasol) knows his body,” Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters. “If he feels good enough to play, we’ll give it a shot. He’s been around long enough to understand. His health is the big thing. If he can go, he’ll go. If he can’t or doesn’t feel comfortable with it, he won’t.”
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS: James wasn’t the only Cleveland player standing out in Game 5 as point guard Kyrie Irving re-emerged to score 25 points – more than his combined output of the previous two games (23), when he was 5-of-23 from the field. Irving has been bothered by injuries to his right foot and left knee and made three 3-pointers as part of a 9-of-16 shooting effort over 39 minutes. Shooting guard Iman Shumpert (groin) bounced back for 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting after being 4-of-17 over the previous two contests.
TRENDS:
*Cavaliers are 5-16 ATS in the last 21 meetings.
*Bulls are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
*Over is 11-3 in Cavaliers last 14 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
*Under is 16-7 in Bulls last 23 vs. NBA Central.
COVERS CONSENSUS: 62.15 percent of the Covers public is backing the Bulls, with 51.4 percent on the under.
Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Clippers (-8, 219.5)
Clippers lead series 3-2
The Houston Rockets staved off elimination and now look to tie the best-of-7 Western Conference semifinals against Los Angeles when they visit the Clippers in Thursday’s Game 6. After losing back-to-back games by an average of 29 points, Houston rolled to a 124-103 win on Tuesday to cut Los Angeles’ series lead to 3-2.
Star guard James Harden turned in his top performance of the series with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to notch Houston’s first playoff triple-double since Steve Francis recorded one in 2004. The victory helped revive the Rockets and their confidence was flowing after delivering such a stellar showing. “The tremendous motivating factor for us is we don’t want our season to end and we realize that we can focus in on just one game,” veteran guard Jason Terry told reporters. “One game only and get the win. Then we will be back in the friendly confines of the Toyota Center.” The Clippers, who are vying for their first trip to the Western Conference finals, had only three fast-break points in Game 5 after totaling 45 in back-to-back blowout victories.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
LINE HISTORY: The line has moved a half point since opening at LAC -7.5 to -8. The total has climbed from 218.5 to 219.5.
INJURY REPORT: Rockets - G K.J. McDaniels (Out-Wrist) Clippers - N/A
DANCE TEAM WAR:
ABOUT THE ROCKETS: Houston didn’t appear to have much fight left after losing Games 3 and 4 by an average of 29 points but Harden, forward Trevor Ariza (22 points, eight rebounds) and center Dwight Howard (20 points, 15 rebounds) proved to be a formidable trio with elimination staring them in the eyes. Harden was bothered by the flu but still drove the lane with ease and distributed the ball generously as the Rockets dictated the flow of the game. “We played our tempo and to our pace,” guard Corey Brewer told reporters. “We didn’t want to go home. We’re trying to play it one game at a time.”
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS: Los Angeles missed an opportunity to close out the series and now feels pressure to wrap it up at home. “You look at, statistically, Game 7s on the road – nobody wants to put themselves in that position,” Griffin told reporters. “If we don’t have a sense of urgency going home after already losing a game, then we’ll be in trouble.” Griffin continued his outstanding series with 30 points and 16 rebounds while point guard Chris Paul (22 points, 10 assists) is showing little signs of hamstring issues.
TRENDS:
*Rockets are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 vs. NBA Pacific.
*Clippers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a S.U. loss.
*Over is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings.
*Over is 5-0 in Clippers last 5 home games.
COVERS CONSENSUS: 56.21 of Covers users are backing Houston with 61.2 percent taking the over.
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