The Cleveland Cavaliers will head to Toronto to face the East's top dog Friday night, on December 5, 2014. The battle between two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference will tip off at 7:35 P.M, Air Canada Centre.
With DeMar DeRozan out, this game will no longer be a LeBron James vs DeRozan match up but a duel between two of the hottest scoring point guards in the league in the young season in Kyrie Irving and Kyle Lowry in what could be a potential Eastern Conference finals preview.
Irving led the Cavaliers (10-7) to thrilling 90-87 victory against the New York Knicks Thursday night. The rising guard scored a season-high 37 points, including a game winning tear drop with 10 seconds left in the final period.
"Spectacular," James said of Irving's performance per ESPN's game recap. "Any time we needed a bucket, he made it. Any time we needed some energy, he gave it."
James, meanwhile, has been spectacular in the Cavs five game winning streak. Not only is he scoring 22.8 points in the stretch but is also dishing out almost 10 assists according to Fox Sports. The two time MVP finished the game against New York with 19 points and 12 assists, seemingly content on doing most of the quarterbacking with Irving torching the Knicks defense.
Lowry, meanwhile, has also been spectacular for the Raptors as of late. With their All-Star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan sidelined with an injury, Lowry stepped up to the challenge and filled the scoring void especially when the Raptors needed a bucket. In their 123-104 victory against the Utah Jazz Wednesday night, Lowry scored a season-high 39 points on 13-of-22 shooting and has been averaging 26.3 points in Toronto's eight road games.
"I know I got to score a little bit more and be more aggressive,'' Lowry said per NBA.com's game recap. "I could do it with DeMar (healthy), but as a point guard, I like to get my teammates involved. Right now, I got to be a little bit more assertive.''
The Raptors reserve guards have also been stepping up early in the season. Greivis Vasquez and Lou Williams each had 17 points apiece in the victory.
Toronto is the favorite in this matchup, laying -3.0 points here at home. The Total has been posted at Over/Under 206.0 per Pro Cappers.
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