NBA Playoff Betting Preview: Tuesday Games

After a disappointing showing in their series opener against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Toronto Raptors will look to bounce back when they play host to Milwaukee in Game 2 of their first-round series on Tuesday night.

Toronto was a 7.5-point home favorite in Game 1 but lost 97-83. That snapped a four-game winning streak straight-up and dropped them to 3-5-1 against the spread in their last nine games. The Raptors have now lost their last three home games ATS while Milwaukee is 6-3 ATS in their last nine on the road.

DeMar DeRozan netted 27 points while shooting only 7-of-21 for Toronto, while Kyle Lowry tanked with only four points on 2-of-11 shooting. Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 28 points and eight rebounds.

Toronto is a 7.5-point favorite again for Game 2 at the Bovada Sportsbook.

The Los Angeles Clippers also failed as the favorite in their series opener versus the Utah Jazz. The Clippers were a 5.5-point favorite and lost to Utah 97-95.

Joe Johnson buried a jumper at the buzzer to give Utah the win and finished with a team-high 21 points. Blake Griffin poured in 26 points for the Clippers and Chris Paul added 25 points and 11 assists. The loss snapped a seven-game SU winning streak for the Clippers. They were 4-2-1 ATS in the seven wins.

Before the Game 1 loss the Clippers had dominated this matchup with an 18-2 record SU in their last 20 games versus Utah. However, they were only 8-10-2 ATS in those wins. Los Angeles is an 8-point favorite at the Bovada Sportsbook for Game 2.

Closing out the rest of the Tuesday night NBA matchups, the Chicago Bulls visit the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of their series. Like Toronto and Los Angeles the Celtics stumbled as the favorite in their series opener. Boston was a 6.5-point home favorite and fell to the Bulls 106-102.

Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 30 points and nine rebounds in the upset win. A grieving Isaiah Thomas delivered a gutsy performance for Boston with 33 points, five rebounds and six assists, but it wasn't enough to push the Celtics to a win.

Chicago has now won three in a row SU and ATS, and they're 8-2 SU and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games. When listed as a road underdog the Bulls have won three straight SU and six in a row ATS.

The Celtics have been a bad pick for bettors lately at 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games. They're also a dreadful 1-7 ATS in their last eight at home.