We've three huge first round basketball games Friday night. The Raptors, Hornets, and Trail Blazers are all trying to eliminate their opposition and move directly to the second one round.

Toronto Raptors at Indiana Pacers (-2, 194.5)

Raptors lead series 3-2

Toronto shooting guard DeMar DeRozan emerged from his playoff hibernation within the Game 5 victory and can try to help the Raptors clinch the best-of-7 series after they visit the Indiana Pacers on Friday. DeRozan set a private best for the postseason with 34 points within the 102-99 road win to offer the Raptors a 3-2 series lead.

DeRozan shot just 29.6 percent over the primary four games but rediscovered his All-Star form with the stellar effort. "IT IS ALL about patience," DeRozan told reporters. "YOU CANNOT get flustered, you cannot get frustrated. You have to stay the course. That is what we are going to continue to do." Indiana faces elimination after letting a 17-point lead break out in Game 5 and helped Toronto's comeback bid by scoring just nine fourth-quarter points. "Once again, we didn't live as much as that moment," All-Star forward Paul George told reporters. "Nine points within the fourth. It is the only thing to take a look at - nine points within the fourth."

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, ESPNews, TSN (Toronto), FSN Indiana

LINE HISTORY: The Pacers opened as 2.5-point favorites however the public hit the Raptors and the books were forced to bring the road all the way down to -2. The whole hit the board at 196 but was dropped to 194.5 by Thursday afternoon. Take a look at all the line history here.

MATCHUP CHART:

ABOUT THE RAPTORS (59-28, 47-40 ATS, 43-43-1 O/U): DeRozan averaged just 13.3 points over the primary four games of the series before his breakout game but backcourt mate Kyle Lowry still can't find the mark. Lowry, the All-Star point guard, went 3-for-11 in Game 5 to drop his series shooting percentage to 31.4 and he has shot below 40 percent in all the five contests. Backup center Bismack Biyombo was a big-time standout in Game 5 with 10 points and 16 rebounds and he's averaging nine boards within the series.

ABOUT THE PACERS (47-40, 44-42-1 ATS, 38-49 O/U): George is averaging 28.8 points within the series after enjoying another superb game with 39 points, eight rebounds and 8 assists in Game 5 and was again seeking to suppress frustration with a few of his teammates. "I BELIEVE our guys individually know, individually, that they've to bring it," George told reporters. "I AM NOT about putting guys down or putting teammates down, but individually everybody has to bring it." Shooting guard Monta Ellis is one guy Indiana could use a lift from as he has scored eight or fewer points in all the past three games while shooting 9-of-26 from the field.

TRENDS:

* Raptors are 2-10 ATS of their last 12 Conference Quarterfinals games.* Pacers are 17-4 ATS of their last 21 games playing on 2 days rest.* Under is 7-1 in Raptors last 8 road games vs. a team with a house winning % of more than .600.* Under is 8-2 in Pacers last 10 home games.* Underdog is 6-1 ATS within the last 7 meetings.

Miami Heat at Charlotte Hornets (-1.5, 190.5)

Hornets lead series 3-2

The Charlotte Hornets have won three straight games and took full control of the their first-round series against the fourth-seeded Miami Heat by stealing a win at the road on Wednesday. The Hornets have a possibility to near out the series and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals after they host the warmth in Game 6 on Friday.

Charlotte leaned on its backcourt to even the series in Game 4 with a combined 55 points from Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lin but got only 25 points from the 2 in Game 5 while the frontcourt took control. Courtney Lee was having the worst night of the backcourt quartet before hitting the most important shot of the sport – a 3-pointer with 25.2 seconds left that put the Hornets in front for good. "I USED TO BE wide open so I just let it fly," Lee told reporters. "If I needed to draw it up, I'll take shooting 1-for-8 before I knock down a large shot any day.” The warmth will leave Miami with the similar feelings they'd after leaving Charlotte following Game 4 as they question the refereeing however the NBA said Thursday that a non-foul on Dwyane Wade with 2.6 seconds left was the right kind call.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, FSN Sun (Miami)

LINE HISTORY: The Hornets have won three games in a row to take the lead on this series against the warmth they usually opened as one-point favorites - the road was bumped slightly to -1.5. The whole opened at 192.5 and was dropped a whole two points to 190.5. Take a look at your entire line history here.

MATCHUP CHART:

ABOUT THE WARMTH (50-37, 45-41-1 ATS, 36-50-1 O/U): Miami was dismayed by the whistles blown against them in Game 4 and subtly questioned the disparity in personal foul calls after the sport but were more open about things after Game 5. Wade told reporters that he was fouled at the layup attempt that may have tied the sport within the final seconds and his wife, actress Gabrielle Union, took to Twitter to advocate for fining the refs. “It hurts losing at home,” Heat coach Eric Spoelstra told reporters. “But welcome to the playoffs. The playoffs just started now. One team beat somebody at the road. Now it gets real. Now we just must collect ourselves, as raw because it feels presently. Now we have 48 hours to regroup and prepare for a heck of a battle in Game 6.”

ABOUT THE HORNETS (51-36, 45-41-1 ATS, 42-43-2 O/U): Charlotte doesn’t know what it will get out of forward Marvin Williams from game-to-game within the playoffs, but he stepped up with a team-high 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting to move together with eight rebounds and 3 steals in Game 5. The Hornets changed up the lineup before Game 3 and pushed Al Jefferson right into a starting role with fellow center Frank Kaminsky, leaving Williams to do damage at the wing against smaller defenders. Williams went scoreless in 37 minutes in Game 4 and was a combined 1-of-17 within the first two games of the series but prepare solid performances in two of the last three to assist support Walker, Lin and Lee.

TRENDS:

* Heat are 1-8 ATS of their last 9 road games.* Home team is 4-1 ATS within the last 5 meetings.* Under is 5-0 in Heat last 5 road games vs. a team with a house winning % of more than .600.* Over is 4-1 in Hornets last 5 Friday games.

L. a. Clippers at Portland Trail Blazers (-10, 198)

Trail Blazers lead series 3-2

The Los Angeles Clippers prepare a powerful effort without their injured superstars but in spite of everything didn't have enough to triumph over the Portland Trail Blazers at home in Game 5. The Clippers will attempt to muster up enough to increase the series after they visit the path Blazers in a possible elimination Game 6 on Friday.

Los Angeles lost All-Star point guard Chris Paul (broken hand) and star forward Blake Griffin (quad) for the remainder of the postseason in a Game 4 loss and will not find enough offense late to circumvent a 108-98 loss at home in Game 5. “(The players) heard the similar thing that (the media) said, you know, for 48 hours,” Doc Rivers said. “’Hard game, can they win?’ So, I liked the emotion, but they didn’t sustain it. Like, the pace we played at within the first half was terrific, we just couldn’t sustain the pace.” Portland weathered the early emotional storm from the Clippers and located its stride offensively within the second half, giving itself an opportunity to near out the series at home. “We need to close the series out,” guard C.J. McCollum told reporters. “We’ve got a singular opportunity here to play an elimination game at home, and we wish to be certain that we take full good thing about it.”

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), KGW (Portland)

LINE HISTORY: The Blazers opened as 10-point favorites at home in an elimination game and the road has yet to transport. The entire opened at 197.5 and has also been stationary. Take a look at all the line history here.

MATCHUP CHART:

ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (55-32, 42-42-3 ATS, 35-52 O/U): Future Hall of Famer and previous NBA champion Paul Pierce started as opposed to Griffin and went scoreless in 10 minutes while Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford started as opposed to Paul in Game 5 and went 6-of-23 from the ground in 44 minutes.  “I was just a little winded,” Crawford told reporters. “But what are you able to do at this point? It's a must to discover a way.” Austin Rivers moved into the starting lineup in addition however it was J.J. Redick managing a team-high 19 points within the loss while Jeff Green came off the bench so as to add 17 points in 37 minutes.

ABOUT THE PATH BLAZERS (47-40, 47-40 ATS, 45-42 O/U): Portland star guard Damian Lillard was 1-of-10 from the ground within the first three quarters on Wednesday before exploding for 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting within the final period to assist put the sport away. “I’ve always been in a position to put the primary three quarters behind me and are available up big when my team has needed it,” said Lillard. “All my teammates within the game, they only kept saying, ‘keep shooting, stick with it, stay aggressive, keep your mind right.’ I MIGHT has been doing that each one along, nevertheless it felt good to have that encouragement and that support. … I just needed to be patient.” Lillard finished with 22 points within the win while McCollum matched his series high with 27.

TRENDS:

* Clippers are 1-6 ATS of their last 7 games following a straight up loss.* Trail Blazers are 4-0 ATS of their last 4 games playing on 1 days rest.* Under is 9-1 in Clippers last 10 games following a double-digit loss at home.* Under is 6-1 in Trail Blazers last 7 overall.* Under is 5-1 within the last 6 meetings.

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