Posted at 10:00 AM EST. Odds are subject to change.

Toronto +8½ -110 over Cleveland

NBA Playoffs Series Game 2

7:00 PM EST. If you bet the Raptors in Game 1, taking back 8 or 8½ points, chances are you're not going anywhere near them tonight after what looked like a very ugly loss in Cleveland. The final score was 126-113, but trust us when we suggest that was a flattering score to Toronto. Cleveland had a 20-point lead deep into the fourth quarter before easing off the gas and allowing the Raptors to make the game look somewhat respectable.

That performance left a bad taste in bettors’ mouths, and the market knows it.

Now the oddsmakers have put out essentially the same number for Game 2, and we have to trust that the public will bite. Most bettors saw Cleveland dominate the second half, saw Toronto struggle without rhythm, and now assume the same thing is going to happen again. That is exactly how numbers get shaded — not on long-term reality, but on short-term perception.

What we learned from Game 1 is not that Cleveland is unbeatable. What we learned is that Cleveland played about as well as they possibly could, while Toronto played about as poorly as they possibly could. In playoff series, extremes rarely repeat themselves on consecutive nights.

Toronto also has pride, adjustments, and urgency on its side. Teams that get embarrassed in Game 1 typically respond with a far more focused effort in Game 2. Coaches make adjustments. Rotations tighten. Defensive intensity increases. The desperation factor rises quickly when a team is staring at an 0-2 hole.

Meanwhile, Cleveland is coming off a comfortable win, hearing praise, and feeling confident. That is not a negative but it often leads to a slight drop in urgency, especially when the opponent is perceived as overmatched. In playoff basketball, that combination frequently leads to tighter games than the public expects.

We are not asking Toronto to win this game. We are asking them to compete.The number stayed the same but the perception changed and that's where we find the value here. 

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Bet365 Early Payout – How It Works

Straight Bets:

If the team you back to win goes up by the designated number of points at any time during the game, BET365 will pay out your bet in full immediately, even if the opposing team later comes back and wins the game.

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If a team you’ve selected goes up by the designated number of points that selection will be marked as WON in My Bets. Any remaining legs of the parlay will continue to run as normal.

Once a selection is marked as won under the Early Payout rules, it cannot be reversed, regardless of what happens later in the game.

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