Two Conference Semifinals Game 2s are on the schedule Thursday night, with both home teams looking to extend their series leads.
Cavaliers at Pistons — 7:00 PM ET
Detroit heads into Game 2 as 3.5-point favorites after dominating Game 1 behind strong rebounding, stifling defense, and efficient three-point shooting. The Pistons have been one of the surprise stories of this postseason, and Jalen Duren’s resurgent form makes them a handful for any opponent.
Cleveland will be watching the status of Sam Merrill, who is questionable after suffering a left hamstring injury in Game 1. The Cavaliers’ depth will be tested if the sharpshooting guard can’t go. The series total is set at 215.5.
Lakers at Thunder — 9:30 PM ET
Oklahoma City is a massive 15.5-point favorite against Los Angeles in what could already be a must-win situation for the Lakers. The defending champion Thunder won Game 1 by 18 points, and their margins of victory over L.A. this season have been staggering — an average of 29 points across three regular season meetings.
Luka Doncic remains sidelined, and without their franchise player, Los Angeles has very little margin for error. OKC’s Jalen Williams is also expected to miss at least one more game, but the Thunder have shown they can dominate without him. The series total sits at 210.5.
Both games can be followed on Prime Video and ESPN respectively.
