NBA Betting Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons Game 3 Odds

For the second straight game, the Detroit Pistons looked good early on against the Cleveland Cavaliers, only to fade down the stretch in a much more lopsided 107-90 loss in Game 2 on Wednesday.

The Pistons will now try to rebound at home as 4.5-point betting underdogs at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark for Game 3 on Friday.

Detroit led Cleveland 60-55 in the third quarter before surrendering a decisive 27-8 run to the defending Eastern Conference champions that turned the tide of the game for good.

The Cavs connected on 20 of 38 three-point attempts (52.6 percent) to tie an NBA playoff record and turned a close game into a rout. That was much different from Game 1, which stayed competitive until the very end. The Pistons covered the spread as 11-point road underdogs in Game 1 but fell short as identical 11-point dogs in Game 2 on the NBA betting lines.

Of course, LeBron James was one of the main difference-makers for Cleveland, scoring 14 of his 27 points in the second quarter on 7-of-8 shooting. James scored 22 in Game 1 but made sure he made an impact much earlier in Game 2 with his team trailing 28-23 following the first 12 minutes.

J.R. Smith was also a big factor, with seven three-pointers for 21 points after scoring just nine in the series opener. The question is, can Detroit find a way to finish stronger and break through at home to make this a series?

The Pistons entered this playoff matchup as winners of three of the four regular-season meetings with the Cavs, although the last one was meaningless, as no starters played for either team.

They split two games against Cleveland at home, winning the first 104-99 as 4.5-point dogs on November 17 and then losing 114-106 as four-point dogs on January 29. Game 2 marked the first time the Cavaliers beat Detroit by double digits since a 109-97 victory as eight-point home favorites on April 13, 2015.

The last two meetings at The Palace of Auburn Hills both finished over the total, with the Pistons averaging 105 points. Detroit’s point total in Game 2 was its lowest in the series since a 93-89 home loss back on February 12, 2014.

The over has also cashed in five of seven in the series, although the under is 3-1 in the past four at home for the Pistons, according to the Odds Shark NBA Database.