The recently hot-and-cold Cavaliers are on “hot” mode again. They have now won three straight games and are averaging 126.3 points and 29.6 assists per game on 51.8 percent shooting in that span.
The most recent win was Tuesday’s 122-102 rout of the Orlando Magic at home. LeBron James had 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in his 12th triple-double of the season (sixth since returning from the All-Star break), while Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving combined for 52 points and eight threes. In the win, the Cavs joined the current Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors as the only NBA teams in history to record 1,000 threes in a season.
Cleveland is ahead in this year’s head-to-head battle with Boston, 2-1. Its big three are all averaging no less than 27 points in the season series, with James and Love also netting 11 assists and 11 rebounds per contest, respectively, and Irving shooting 57.4 percent.
The Cavs are 10-4 against the Celtics since James’s return to Cleveland in 2014 (6-7-1 ATS).
The Celtics will head to the matchup as winners in nine of their last 11 (5-6 ATS). In that stretch, they tally 109.3 points, 11 threes, and 25.9 assists per game.
They pounded the New York Knicks on Sunday, 110-94, by making an eye-popping 80 percent from two (28-for-35) and having six guys score in double figures. Isaiah Thomas, Al Horford, Terry Rozier, and rookie Jaylen Brown were a perfect 21-for-21 inside the line.
Boston will try to carry the momentum of that impressive shooting display, along with the confidence of them beating the defending champs at home last March 1. In there, they edged the Cavs, 103-99, and held them to just 40.7 percent shooting. Various key players on the Celtics made their presence felt in the contest, as Thomas scored a game-high 31, Jae Crowder double-doubled, and Horford was active all over the floor and registered nine points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Writer’s Prediction
The Cavs are too inconsistent as of late. The Celtics (-4) may expose that and win, 112-106.
