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It is exceedingly rare for an NBA game in November to qualify for must-watch status, but Tuesday features one of the most exciting pre-Christmas matchups in recent history: the unbeaten Cavaliers vs. the reigning champion Celtics. The Celtics, thus far, have been just as good as advertised. Through 14 games they are on pace to match last season’s win total of 64, and their net rating of plus-10.2 is just a shade below last year’s historic plus-11.7 figure that came with a healthy Kristaps Porzingis. In a normal season, Boston’s repeat dominance might be the story of the fall. But it isn’t a normal season, because Thanksgiving is around the corner and the Cavs haven’t lost yet.

At 15-0, the Cavaliers have tied the 1993-94 Houston Rockets and 1948-49 Washington Capitols for the second-best start in NBA history. A win gives Cleveland sole control of second place and officially starts Warriors Watch as the Cavaliers attempt to chase Golden State’s record of 24-0.

That alone should represent pretty significant stakes. There’s plenty more to consider here. For starters, this is an NBA Cup game, and after Boston lost its opener to Atlanta, Cleveland has a chance to functionally knock the Celtics out of contention for a mid-December trip to Vegas. A Boston win puts the Celtics in control of their group thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker with Cleveland. Speaking of tiebreakers, we have to at least acknowledge regular-season seeding where two teams this good are concerned. A Cleveland win gives the Cavaliers a four-game lead in the loss column over Boston and an early head-to-head victory that could prove meaningful. With two of their three remaining contests at home, Cleveland could take a huge step towards securing home-court advantage in a possible playoff series against Boston with a win on Monday.

So what are we waiting for? Here’s how you can tune into Tuesday’s heavyweight clash and some best bets to consider before tipoff.

Where to watch Celtics vs. Cavaliers
Time: 7 p.m. ET | Date: Tuesday, Nov. 19
Location: TD Garden — Boston
TV channel: TNT | Live stream: Max
Live updates: Follow along

Cavaliers vs. Celtics best bets
All lines from DrafKings. Fans can take action on the NBA all season long with the latest DraftKings promo code.

I don’t necessarily believe Cleveland extends the streak against Boston on Tuesday, but I want the 5.5-point cushion that comes with a Cavaliers pick. Three of Boston’s last four wins have been by six points or less, and while they ran away with the fourth in the second half (139-114 over the Nets), the Celtics led that game by only five at halftime. The Celtics have been better on the road than at home this season, and their plus-5.6 home net rating ranks only 12th in the NBA as of this writing. Cleveland, meanwhile, has a plus-10.1 net rating on the road. Lastly, Cleveland has played Boston as well as any team in the NBA over the last few years. All three of last year’s games were determined by single digits, and Cleveland has won four of the seven regular-season games they’ve played against Joe Mazzulla-coached Celtics teams. All in all, this game just figures to be close. In that scenario, the points are the wiser pick. The Pick: Cavaliers +5.5

Looking for more NBA insight from CBS Sports? Bill Reiter, John Gonzalez and more experts break down the league daily on the Beyond the Arc podcast.

Here’s the simple reason to expect a high-scoring game: the Cavaliers have the NBA’s No. 1 ranked offense at 122.1 points per 100 possessions and the Celtics have the NBA’s No. 2 ranked offense at 121.4 points per 100 possessions. The Celtics don’t play with much pace, but Cleveland does, and the Cavaliers notably rank fifth in pace off of made shots. If the Celtics are scoring, the Cavaliers are going to try to create transition looks off of their made shots. That pushes the point total. The Celtics don’t need to play at a fast pace to play in high-scoring games though because of their shot diet. They’re taking 51.1 3’s per game, nearly six more than any other team. Boston will be incentivized to fire away from deep in this game, because while Cleveland’s rim-protecting duo of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley is available, Cleveland’s wing rotation is fairly thin at the moment. Dean Wade and Max Strus remain injured. Isaac Okoro, Caris LeVert and Sam Merrill are game-time decisions. Obviously Merrill and LeVert are offense-first players, but more broadly, you never want to dig that deep onto a bench when you’re playing against Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday. The signs here therefore point to offense. The Pick: Over 235.5

Cleveland may not have its full complement of wings available defensively, but historically speaking, its best wing defender against Boston has been Evan Mobley. In five playoff games a season ago, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined to shoot 17-of-43 (39.5%) from the field with Mobley as their primary defender, according to NBA.com tracking data. Where Cleveland will really feel the pain of their limited wing depth is in defending Derrick White, who is averaging just under 19 points per game this season and has quietly absorbed a chunk of the aging Jrue Holiday’s ball-handling duties this season. If Boston sees either Darius Garland or Donovan Mitchell defending White, they are going to run White-Tatum pick-and-rolls knowing Boston can’t switch it and give Tatum mismatches. Bottom line: White should be at the center of what Boston does offensively in this game. The Pick: Derrick White Over 16.5 Points

Russell Westbrook owns just about every meaningful record relating to triple-doubles in NBA history. In 2021, he broke Oscar Robertson’s career record of 181. He was the first player since Robertson to average a triple-double over the course of a full season, and he’s done so four times. During his MVP 2016-17 season, he set a new record by recording 42 triple-doubles in a single year.

Where triple-doubles are concerned, Westbrook more or less has written the record book. It’s fitting, then, that he would become the first player in NBA history to record 200 of them in a career.

He did so on Tuesday, racking up 12 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds in a Denver Nuggets 122-110 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. Afterward, Westbrook imitated Wilt Chamberlain’s famous photograph after his 100-point game with a sheet of paper showing the number “200.”

History made pic.twitter.com/0BUWc5k53F

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) November 20, 2024
A few years ago, it looked like 195 might have been off of the table for Westbrook as he aged into the twilight of his NBA career. He had 190 of them when the Los Angeles Lakers moved him to the bench for the 2022-23 season, and his playing time and on-ball opportunities declined from there. He recorded only one triple-double in his entire tenure with the Los Angeles Clippers, and prior to Tuesday, he hadn’t yet earned one as a Nugget. However, with Nikola Jokic out for personal reasons, Westbrook had the opportunity to both play and posses the ball enough to get the elusive No. 200.

Jokic’s absence helping Westbrook reach No. 200 feels appropriate since he is the active player that is by far the likeliest to potentially break Westbrook’s record. Jokic, who is 29, has 136 triple-doubles for his career and is currently primed to average a triple-double for the 2024-25 season with 29.7 points, 13.7 rebounds and 11.7 assists.

Jokic may one day make a run at the record, but it currently belongs to Westbrook, and the sheer volume he’s accumulated will be remarkable whether or not the record stands for the long haul.

Only six players in history have reached even 100 triple-doubles: Westbrook, Jokic, Robertson, Magic Johnson, LeBron James and Jason Kidd. Legends like Michael Jordan (28), Kobe Bryant (21) and Stephen Curry (10) haven’t even come close to Westbrook’s total. It takes a rare versatility to hit double-digits in three statistical categories in a single game, and Westbrook has proven he’s had it 200 times now.

The New Orleans Pelicans will face off against the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Cleveland is 15-1 overall and 8-0 at home, while New Orleans is 4-11 overall and 1-6 on the road. On Tuesday, Cleveland suffered its first loss of the season, a 117-120 setback on the road against the Boston Celtics. The Pelicans, meanwhile, limp into tonight’s contest having lost eight of their last nine games.

The Cavaliers are favored by 13.5 points in the latest Cavaliers vs. Pelicans odds via SportsLine consensus, while the over/under is 223 points. Before entering any Pelicans vs. Cavaliers picks, you’ll want to see the NBA predictions from the advanced computer model at SportsLine.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past six-plus seasons. The model enters Week 5 of the 2024-25 NBA season on a sizzling 109-74 roll on all top-rated NBA picks dating back to last season, returning more than $3,000. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps has seen huge returns.

The model has set its sights on New Orleans-Cleveland. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several NBA betting lines for the game:

Cavaliers vs. Pelicans spread: Cavaliers -13.5
Cavaliers vs. Pelicans over/under: 223 points
Cavaliers vs. Pelicans money line: Cavaliers: -926, Pelicans: +621
Cavaliers vs. Pelicans picks: See picks here
Cavaliers vs. Pelicans streaming: FuboTV (Try for free)
Why the Pelicans can cover
The Pelicans will look to avoid a repeat of their last match, where they got behind early and never recovered. They were dealt a punishing 132-91 loss at the hands of the Mavericks on Tuesday. New Orleans was surely aware of its disadvantage in the point spread, but the foreknowledge did nothing to prevent the result.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, the Pelicans struggled to work together and finished the game with only 19 assists. They were destroyed by their opponents in that department as the Mavericks posted 26. Despite the lopsided loss, the Pelicans will be confident they can keep this game close. That’s because New Orleans is 4-2 against the spread in its six games on the road against Cleveland. See which team to pick here.

Why the Cavaliers can cover
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers’ undefeated season came to an end after 15 games on Tuesday. They fell just short of the Celtics by a score of 120-117. Despite their defeat, the Cavaliers saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays.

Evan Mobley, who dropped a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. What’s more, Mobley also racked up six offensive rebounds, the most he’s had since back in November of 2023. Another player making a difference was Donovan Mitchell, who had 35 points and eight rebounds. For the season, Mitchell is averaging 25.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. See which team to pick here.

How to make Pelicans vs. Cavaliers picks
The model has simulated Cavaliers vs. Pelicans 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Under the total, and it’s also generated a point-spread pick that hits in well over 60% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.