Cavs try for 3‑0 lead
- The Cleveland Cavaliers travel to Toronto for Game 3 aiming to push the Raptors to a 3‑0 hole. - The matchup tonight could put Toronto in a near‑elimination spot if Cleveland wins again. - Pundits say a 3‑0 advantage would shift the series narrative and heavily favor Cleveland’s postseason path ( ).
Cleveland can put Toronto on the brink Thursday night, taking a 2-0 first-round lead into Game 3 at Scotiabank Arena. (nba.com) The Cavaliers won Game 1, 126-113, and Game 2, 115-105, after finishing the regular season 52-30 as the East’s No. 4 seed. Toronto went 46-36 and enters Game 3 as the No. 5 seed. (espn.com) Thursday’s game is scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern on Prime Video, with Cleveland listed around a 2.5-point road favorite in pregame odds. ESPN’s matchup predictor gave Toronto a slight edge at home, 53.8% to 46.2%. (espn.com) The series has turned on Cleveland’s scoring at the top. Donovan Mitchell averaged 27.9 points in the regular season and scored 62 points across the first two games, while James Harden added 28 in Game 2 alone. (espn.com, sports.yahoo.com) Toronto’s path back starts with its lead creators. ESPN listed Immanuel Quickley as questionable with a hamstring issue Thursday, while Ja’Kobe Walter was also questionable because of illness; Cleveland center Thomas Bryant was listed questionable with a calf injury. (espn.com, usatoday.com) A 3-0 lead in the National Basketball Association playoffs is usually a closing argument, not a twist. No team in league history has come back from 3-0 down to win a best-of-seven series. (nba.com, nbcdfw.com) That history is part of why Cleveland entered the matchup as the betting favorite to win the series even before Game 1. Sportsbook Review listed the Cavaliers at -550 to advance when the series opened. (sportsbookreview.com) The setup looked less one-sided a week ago. Toronto swept Cleveland 3-0 in the regular season, and the league’s official series preview called the 4-5 matchup one that could be highly competitive. (nba.com) Now the question is whether Toronto’s home floor can reset the matchup before Sunday’s Game 4, or whether Cleveland leaves Canada with the series all but decided. (nba.com, nba.com)
