NBA - Cleveland at San Antonio (8:05 PM ET – TNT)

Thursday nights in the NBA usually features two high quality contests on TNT among the better or more high profile teams in the league.

2008-01-17

Thursday nights in the NBA usually features two high quality contests on TNT among the better or more high profile teams in the league. This season we have seen, the schedule maker has typically added one other game and tonight it is an important one. So besides the Cleveland-San Antonio & Phoenix-LA Lakers games, there’s another intriguing contest between Utah and Denver. It should be a great night of NBA hoops. Here’s a closer look at the opener, the Cavaliers visiting the Spurs in a rematch of last June’s Finals series.

This is the first meeting between last season’s conference champions since they met in the NBA Finals last summer. Cleveland (20-18, 16-22 ATS) has been scuffling most of the season and would need a Detroit collapse to win the Central Division. The Cavaliers are in the midst of playing six of eight games on the road and started with a winner at Memphis 132-124, as two point favorites. LeBron James hung 51 points on the Grizzlies, as the Cavs shot over 50 percent from the field for just the fifth time this season. Besides the obvious revenge factor from being swept in the finals, Cleveland is 26-12 ATS after a game where they made 12 or more three point shots.

San Antonio (25-11, 18-18 ATS) owns the best home record in the NBA at 19-3 and has covered the spread in 13 of those contests. After a lightning quick start, the first place Spurs have been vulnerable to the oddsmakers numbers with just three covers in last 13 trips to the hardwood. Inconsistent shooting is to blame, scoring less then 90 points on six different occasions since December 19. Despite shooting woes, San Antonio has won six of eight, including last two and is 8-1 ATS in home games after two or more consecutive wins this season.

As expected, Dallas is breathing down the Spurs neck in the Southwest division, thus every victory matters. Cleveland will be striving to have the best record other than the division winners in the East and is 18-8 ATS in road games after failing to cover two of their last three against the spread.

TNT will televise starting at 8 Eastern.

StatFox Power Line-San Antonio by 5

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