Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction, Preview, and Odds
On Tuesday night, the Boston Celtics head to Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse for a road meeting against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Celtics destroyed the Golden State Warriors Sunday night. The Cavaliers dropped a home matchup against the New York Knicks. The tip is at 7:30 PM ET. Boston opens as a 3.5-point road favorite.
Celtics Cream the Warriors
The Celtics posted their third-largest winning margin in franchise history with a 140-88 beatdown of the Golden State Warriors. Jaylen Brown scored 29 points and Jayson Tatum had 27. They set a league record with their third win this season by 50 points or more and extended their season-best winning streak to 11 games.
Boston led by a franchise-record 44 points at halftime and pushed it to 51 early in the third quarter before coach Joe Mazzulla went to his reserves the rest of the way. “It feels great, but, at the same time, it's always within humility,” Brown said. “We don't take the game for granted. We didn't come and mess around and that's just how we show our respect to the game; we handle business and take care of it. ... It's a lot of respect for the Golden State Warriors, but we feel like it's our time now.”
Stephen Curry didn't play the second half and finished with a season-low four points for Golden State, his fewest since he had three points in 16 minutes on March 16, 2022, at Boston. Kristaps Porzingis missed the game with a bruised left quad. He is questionable for this one.
Cavaliers Falter at Home
Playing a Knicks team missing Jalen Brunson after the first minute, the Cavaliers had a bad shooting night en route to a 107-98 loss. Sam Merrill and Jarrett Allen scored 18 apiece for the Cavs, who played without leading scorer Donovan Mitchell (sore knee) and top sub-Caris LeVert (sore elbow). Evan Mobley had 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Even before Brunson went down, both teams looked very different than in their playoff matchup last season, which New York won in five games. While the Cavs were without Mitchell and LeVert, the Knicks didn't have three starters: All-Star forward Julius Randle (shoulder), center Mitchell Robinson (ankle) and guard O.G. Anunoby (elbow). “We played in spurts,” Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff told Associated Press reporters. “We had a good second quarter. But to come out of halftime and give up 36 points to a team that was down as many guys as they were down, that’s disappointing defensively.” “We’ve got to be better than that.” They have won 13 of 18 and surged to third place in the Eastern Conference, just a half-game back of the Milwaukee Bucks. Nobody is going to catch the Celtics.
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Full-Game Side Bet
Rating:
The Warriors used a bizarre strategy to open Sunday afternoon’s game, leaving Jaylen Brown open and shifting coverage to Jayson Tatum and Derrick White. Jaylen made them pay for it in a big way. Brown led all players in Sunday's contest in scoring and threes made while tallying a trio of rebounds and assists over just 22 minutes due to the blowout nature of the game. Brown has scored 29 or more points in 14 outings this season, connecting on five or more threes five times. The entire Celtics starting lineup took the second half off, as they used a 61-17 run to close out the first half. Cleveland has played well, but spread-wise, they are overvalued, as they have failed to cover the number in eight of nine. Take the Celtics to win and cover.
Prediction: Boston Celtics -3.5
Full-Game Total Pick
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Donovan Mitchell is a game-time decision for this contest against the Celtics. He missed Friday and Sunday’s games, so he may be ready to suit up here. Regardless, due to the nature of the NBA’s disclosure of injuries, we won’t know whether he plays until moments before tip. Cleveland is 22nd in pace heading into this contest, but their competitiveness depends on whether Mitchell plays. Boston is an excellent defensive club, second in defensive rating, and even if Mitchell plays, this will be a low-scoring game after Boston’s explosion on Sunday. The total has gone under in 12 of Cleveland’s last 18. Take the under.
Prediction: UNDER
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