Half-time report
The Celtics are on the road but don’t seem to be in any worse shape. They took a 55-45 lead against the Cavaliers.
The Celtics entered the competition having won 11 straight and are just two quarters back. Will they make it to 12, or will the Cavaliers step in and ruin it? We will know soon.
Who’s playing
Boston Celtics @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Current records: Boston 48-12, Cleveland 39-21
How to watch
- When: Tuesday March 5, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. ET
- Or: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse – Cleveland, Ohio
- TV: TNT
- Follow: CBS Sports app
- Ticket cost: $64.94
What there is to know
The Cavaliers will be in front of their home fans on Tuesday, but a look at the spread shows they might need that home-court advantage. They will face the Boston Celtics on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Cavaliers and Celtics are tied 5-5 in their last ten head-to-head meetings.
Defenses reigned supreme when the Cavaliers and Knicks played Sunday, rewarding bettors who took the risk on the low of 208.5 points. Cleveland lost 107-98 to the Knicks. The Cavaliers failed to live up to their potential and fell short of the advantage that oddsmakers thought they had going into the game.
Meanwhile, the Celtics entered their game against the Warriors with ten straight wins, but they will enter their next game with 11. Boston won their home game on Sunday with ease, taking a 140-88 victory over the Warriors. That impending 140-88 mark stands out as the Celtics’ largest margin so far this season.
Several players had strong performances to lead the Celtics to victory, but perhaps none more than Jayson Tatum, who scored 27 points and five assists. Tatum has been hot recently, scoring 27 or more points the last three times he’s played. The team also received help from Jaylen Brown, who scored 29 points.
Cleveland’s loss dropped its record to 39-21. As for Boston, they have been on a good run lately: they have won 13 of their last 14 games, which is a nice improvement to their 48-12 record this season.
While only the Celtics took care of their fans the last time they played, neither team managed to cover. As for their next game, the Celtics are the favorites, as experts expect them to win by eight points. This contest will be their 23rd straight as a favorite (so far in that stretch, they are 12-9-1 ATS).
Tuesday’s game is shaping up to be a master class in shooting: the Cavaliers simply can’t miss this season, hitting 48.2 percent of their shots per game. However, it’s not like the Celtics are struggling in this area as they have made 48.8% of their shots this season. Given these competing forces, it will be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Odds
Boston is big favorite with 8 points against Cleveland, according to the latest NBA Odds.
The line drifted a bit toward the Celtics, as the game opened with the Celtics as 6.5-point favorites.
The over/under is 217.5 points.
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History of the series
Both Cleveland and Boston have 5 wins in their last 10 games.
- December 14, 2023 – Boston 116 vs. Cleveland 107
- December 12, 2023 – Boston 120 vs. Cleveland 113
- March 6, 2023 – Cleveland 118 vs. Boston 114
- March 1, 2023 – Boston 117 vs. Cleveland 113
- November 2, 2022 – Cleveland 114 vs. Boston 113
- October 28, 2022 – Cleveland 132 vs. Boston 123
- December 22, 2021 – Boston 111 vs. Cleveland 101
- November 15, 2021 – Boston 98 vs. Cleveland 92
- November 13, 2021 – Cleveland 91 vs. Boston 89
- May 12, 2021 – Cleveland 102 vs. Boston 94
