Cleveland, May 26 (EFE; odds by IDSca.com).– The Cleveland Cavaliers pummeled the Toronto Raptors 116-78 to take a three-games-to-two lead in the Eastern Conference Finals and move within one win of trip back to the championship round.

After losing the two previous games at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, which will be the venue for Friday’s Game 6, the Cavaliers dominated from start to finish at the Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday night.

Game 5 was virtually over after the first quarter when the Cavaliers grabbed a 37-19 lead and well in hand at halftime, when the home side had extended its advantage to 65-34.

It marked the first time since the Raptors joined the league as an expansion team in the 1995-1996 season that they had found themselves trailing by 30 points or more at the intermission of a regular season or playoff game.

The Cavaliers then piled on even more after halftime, stretching their lead to 40 points by the end of the third quarter.

Lebron James scored 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field, while Kevin Love made eight of his 10 shots for a game high 25 points and the other member of the Cavaliers’ Big 3, point guard Kyrie Irving, chipped in with 23 points.

Cleveland shot a whopping 57 percent from the field and nearly 48 percent from 3-point range, while Toronto made just 39 percent of its shots and went a dreadful 3-of-17 from 3-point range.

The Cavaliers allowed just five offensive rebounds, while center Tristan Thompson extended the home team’s possessions by grabbing five of its 10 offensive boards.

On a night to forget, All-Star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors in scoring with 14 points, while All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry managed just 13 points.

Center Bismack Biyombo, who had been a key factor in getting the Raptors back into this best-of-seven series after two blowouts in Game 1 and Game 2, had just seven points and four rebounds.

The Cavaliers are looking to get back to the NBA Finals for a second straight season.

Last year, they were hampered by the absence of Love and Irving due to injury and lost in six games to the Golden State Warriors. EFE

Sportsbooks in Costa Rica have updated their odds for the NBA Finals, which now favor the Cavaliers over the Warriors.

According to IDSca.com, the leading Pay-Per-Head provider in Costa Rica, local sportsbooks are reporting a shocking reversal of odds for the Golden State Warriors as they are no longer favorites to win the NBA Finals.

The new favorites are the Cavaliers at 7/5, closely followed by the Oklahoma Thunder at 8/5. The Warriors have fallen to 3/1.

Bettors who take a chance on the Raptors would see a major payday as their odds are at 25/1.