Warriors To Secure Title On Home Soil

The Cleveland Cavaliers dug out a brilliant performance to keep the NBA Finals alive, preventing the Golden State Warriors completing a sweep.

The Bay Area outfit could have secured the Championship for the second time in three years with a victory at Quicken Loans Arena, but Tyronn Lue’s men produced their best display of the series to give them a glimmer of hope of back-to-back crowns.

For the second game on the bounce, the Cavaliers came out on the front foot, with their star players producing fine performances.

Kyrie Irving dictated the tempo of the game from the off and it enabled the home side to amass 49 points in the first quarter alone.

LeBron James played his role to perfection as he was dominant on the court, notching 31 points, putting the Warriors on the defensive throughout the contest.

Although Kevin Durant still operated at a high level, he suffered the fate that the Cavaliers endured in the opening three matches – with a lack of support for his 35-point outing.

Steph Curry and Klay Thompson had evenings to forget, while Draymond Green failed to alleviate the pressure on Durant.

As a result, the series remains alive and the Warriors have plenty of work ahead of them to secure the Championship.

Cleveland will be buoyed by their salvage act and another strong performance could send shivers down the spine of the Bay Area outfit and a repeat the 2016 Finals when Lue’s men staged a memorable comeback.

We’ll now look ahead to game five of the series to be played at Oracle Arena.

Golden State Warriors

The Warriors will have been concerned by their performance in game four as their defensive capabilities failed them in the early stages of the game.

Cleveland put a huge amount of effort into game three, only to suffer a late defeat, and if any team was going to be sluggish out of the blocks it should have been Lue’s men.

However, Golden State were on the receiving end of a hammering and were never able to regain their foothold in the contest.

Durant managed to maintain his high level of performance, despite the struggles of the rest of the team.

He notched 35 points to continue his surge to be named Finals MVP, although his accuracy was not quite at the standard he had set in the opening three games, making only 40.9% of his FGs, while he fired only two of his nine three-pointers.

A slight improvement could have made the difference between putting the pressure on the Cavs and their heavy defeat, but on home soil expect him to be back to his peak form.

Curry and Thompson’s outings were more worrying for Steve Kerr, with both men scoring a combined 27 points and making just eight of their 24 FG attempts.

They struggled to control the tempo of the match as the Cavaliers seized the early initiative to knock the duo out of their rhytm, with the Bay Area outfit never managing to stem the tide.

Curry and Thompson are more than capable of responding and know that they need only one more effort to get over the line. There will be pressure on them to fire, but with the Championship at stake both players need to thrive.

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavaliers looked despondent following their defeat in game three. LeBron and Irving were excellent in the contest, only for fatigue to take hold in the fourth quarter, which allowed the Warriors to snatch the victory in the dying minutes.

It would have been easy for Cleveland to fold after their devastating loss, but Lue’s men displayed great character to bounce back from the defeat to produce a brilliant out. They were on form from the off and did not allow the Warriors space to breath, while being deadly accurate in their shooting with suggestions they used comments made by Green before the contest.

Irving produced an outstanding performance to anchor the victory. He followed up his 38-point outing in game three with a 40-pointer, firing in 15 of his 27 FG attempts, while he was even better from distance, making seven out of his 12 three-pointers.

The 25-year-old will need to maintain his level of display on the road where he struggled in the opening two matches of the series. However, he thrives once again – it might be enough to extend the Finals into game six.

James was his consistent self in game four as he notched another 30-point display. His work around the net was perhaps more impressive as he collated 10 rebounds and 11 assists. He drew the attention away from Irving and Kevin Love, allowing the duo to rack up the points.

Love had his best outing of the series, making the most out of his opportunities. He scored 23 points, with a hugely impressive performance from distance, firing in six of his eight three-pointers. A similar display at Oracle Arena will be needed to keep the series alive.

Betting Options

The Cavaliers caught the Warriors by surprise, but will have to be even better to keep the series alive on the road.

Golden State were dominant in the opening two matches of the Finals on home soil and Curry along with Thompson they cannot play any worse than their exploits in game four.

Expect them to find their form again on home soil due to the backing of their supporters. Players of their calibre very rarely have poor matches back-to-back and it even took a huge effort from Irving, Love and LeBron to drag the Cavaliers back into the series.

Kerr’s men know it will take one last great effort to haul themselves over the line and the prospect of claiming the title at Oracle Arena should provide enough inspiration. Therefore, backing the Warriors at 1.32Bet €100 to win €1328/25Bet £100 to win £132-313Bet $100 to win $1320.32Bet HK$100 to win HK$132-3.13Bet Rp100 to win Rp1320.3200Bet RM100 to win RM132 with MarathonBet is the option to take.

The Cavaliers surprised with the dominance of their win in game four, triumphing by a 21-point margin. That will have not been forgotten by Golden State and revenge could be in order – with odds of 2.88Bet €100 to win €28847/25Bet £100 to win £288+188Bet $100 to win $2881.88Bet HK$100 to win HK$2881.88Bet Rp100 to win Rp288-0.5319Bet RM100 to win RM288  with PaddyPower for the Warriors to beat the -14.5 spread.

Curry will have been disappointed with the level of his display in the last match, but back him to bounce back with a match-winning outing, scoring over 28.5 points at Bet365 with odds of 1.77Bet €100 to win €17777/100Bet £100 to win £177-130Bet $100 to win $1770.77Bet HK$100 to win HK$177-1.30Bet Rp100 to win Rp1770.7700Bet RM100 to win RM177 .

Tips Summary

Golden State Warriors To Beat Cleveland Cavaliers
Monday 12^th June 21:00 ET (Tuesday 13^th June 02:00 BST)
Odds: 1.32Bet €100 to win €1328/25Bet £100 to win £132-313Bet $100 to win $1320.32Bet HK$100 to win HK$132-3.13Bet Rp100 to win Rp1320.3200Bet RM100 to win RM132

Golden State Warriors To Beat -14.5 Handicap
Monday 12^th June 21:00 ET (Tuesday 13^th June 02:00 BST)
Odds: 2.88Bet €100 to win €28847/25Bet £100 to win £288+188Bet $100 to win $2881.88Bet HK$100 to win HK$2881.88Bet Rp100 to win Rp288-0.5319Bet RM100 to win RM288

Steph Curry To Score Over 28.5 Points
Monday 12^th June 21:00 ET (Tuesday 13^th June 02:00 BST)
Odds: 1.77Bet €100 to win €17777/100Bet £100 to win £177-130Bet $100 to win $1770.77Bet HK$100 to win HK$177-1.30Bet Rp100 to win Rp1770.7700Bet RM100 to win RM177