NBA Finals Betting: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors Game 2 Odds

The Cleveland Cavaliers accomplished one of their goals in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday.

However, shutting down Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson still led to a 104-89 loss, something Cleveland hopes will change Sunday in Game 2 with the team sitting as a 6.5-point road underdog at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark after closing as a six-point dog for Game 1.

The Cavs rallied back from an early double-digit deficit to take a 68-67 lead on a layup by LeBron James with 2:12 left in the third quarter in Game 1. The Warriors proceeded to go on a 15-0 run, though, scoring the last seven of the third and the first eight of the fourth.

They did not look back after that due to a dominant effort from their bench, which outscored Cleveland’s reserves by a 45-10 margin and added 16 rebounds and 10 assists.

Shaun Livingston totaled as many points for Golden State as Curry and Thompson combined with 20 on 8-of-10 shooting from the field. Seven Warriors scored in double figures overall, while Thompson was close with nine.

Curry and Thompson made 8-of-27 shots (29.6 percent) between them, going 4-for-13 (30.8 percent) from three-point range.

If you heard those numbers and did not watch the game, you would probably assume the Cavs won by double digits. Instead, they shot just 38.1 percent from the field (32-of-84), including 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from beyond the three-point arc.

James nearly had a triple-double with 23 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, while Kyrie Irving (26 points) and Kevin Love (17 points and 12 boards) also played well. But they did get much support, with Tristan Thompson the only other Cleveland player to score 10 points.

Golden State is now a consensus -350 favorite (bet $350 to win $100) to take home its second straight NBA championship based on the updated series price.

The Warriors have won the past six meetings dating back to last year’s NBA Finals, going 5-1 against the spread, according to the OddsShark NBA Database. The under is also 8-3-1 in the last 12 games between the teams, including 2-1 this season after cashing in Game 1.