The Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics will take place on Sunday, December 1st, 2024, at 6:00 PM ET, at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. The first meeting between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics was on November 19 at TD Garden, where the Cavaliers were still undefeated at 15-0. The Celtics, however, spoiled their perfect record with a close 120-117 win.
Since then, the Cavaliers have bounced back with a few wins, but they’ve also been tripped up by the Atlanta Hawks, who beat them twice—once on November 27 and again on November 29. Nevertheless, the Cavaliers still remain at the top of the Eastern Conference with a 17-3 record.
The Celtics, on the other hand, are right behind with a 16-3 record, currently riding a seven-game winning streak after their 138-129 victory over the Chicago Bulls. Historically, the Celtics have the upper hand in this rivalry, having won 140 out of 227 regular-season games.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics: Preview
The Cavaliers are scoring like crazy this season, putting up 122.4 points per game, though they’re letting in 112.6 on the defensive end. They’re not the best at grabbing rebounds (42.9 a game), but they’re awesome from beyond the arc, hitting 15.2 threes a game and leading the league in 3-point shooting at 40.2%.
The Celtics are also putting up big numbers, with 121.2 points per game and allowing 110.6. They grab 43.3 rebounds per game and are absolutely crushing it with threes, making 19.2 per game and shooting 37.8% from deep.
Also Read: Ranking All 30 NBA Teams’ Head Coaches From WORST To FIRST For The 2024-25 Season
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics: Odds And Best Bets
The Celtics are slight favorites, with a 1.5-point spread and a money line of -120, while the Cavaliers are at +102. The over/under for total points is set at 234.5, which makes sense, given how high-scoring both teams are. Cleveland is leading the league with 122.4 points per game, while Boston isn’t far behind at 121.2. Both teams have been strong at home and on the road—Cleveland has a solid 10-1 record at home this season, and Boston has been undefeated whenever they hit 20 or more three-pointers in a game.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NBA stories via Google! Follow Us
When it comes to player prop bets, Darius Garland is expected to score over 19.5 points, especially after dropping 29 on Atlanta. He did struggle against Boston last time, though, only putting up eight. With Kristaps Porzingis back for Boston and Cleveland’s lineup strengthened by Caris LeVert and Isaac Okoro, this one’s going to come down to which team can execute their offense while locking down on defense. Analysts are leaning toward the over on total points, and even with Cleveland’s ups and downs lately, they might still cover the spread.
Also Read: Ranking All 30 NBA Teams Starting Small Forwards From WORST To FIRST For The 2024-25 Season
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics: Head-To-Head Stats
The last 11 games between the Cavaliers and Celtics have been very intense. In the most recent game on November 19, 2024, the Celtics won 120-117, extending their streak to one. Going back to the 2023-24 season, the Cavs had a close 105-104 win on March 5, 2024, breaking Boston’s two-game winning streak. The Celtics, however, took the victories in both games earlier that season, winning 116-107 on December 14, 2023, and 120-113 on December 12, 2023.
The 2022-23 season had a few dramatic moments, too. On March 6, 2023, Cleveland beat Boston 118-114 in overtime, starting a three-game win streak against them. Earlier that season, the Cavs also won 114-113 in overtime on November 2, 2022. But Boston wasn’t out of the fight, winning 117-113 on March 1, 2023, and a high-scoring 132-123 on November 28, 2022.
The 2021-22 season saw Cleveland grab the first win with a close 91-89 score, but Boston bounced back with two wins, including a 111-101 victory on December 22, 2021. Overall, these teams have had some tightly contested games, with both sides picking up their fair share of wins.
Also Read: Ranking All 30 NBA Teams After Week 5 Games
