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Boston Celtics (10-9) at Cleveland Cavaliers (12-8)
Sunday, November 30, 2025
6:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #20 Road Game #10
TV: NBCSB, FDSN, NBA-LP
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, WFAM/WMMS
Rocket Arena
Probable Celtics Starters 
PG: Derrick White ...................................... SG: Payton Pritchard
C: Neemias Queta
SF: Jaylen Brown ............................................ PF: Jordan Walsh
Celtics ReservesAnfernee Simons
Hugo Gonzalez
Xavier Tillman
Josh Minott
Sam Hauser
Luka Garza
Baylor Scheierman
Chris Boucher
2-Way PlayersRon Harper, Jr
Max Shulga
Amari Williams
Injuries/OutJayson Tatum (Achilles) out
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Probable Cavaliers Starters 
PG: Darius Garland ................ SG: Donovan Mitchell
C: Jarrett Allen
SF: De'Andre Hunter................. PF: Evan Mobley
Cavaliers Reserves Thomas Bryant
Larry Nance, Jr
Craig Porter, Jr
Tyrese Proctor
Jaylon Tyson
Dean Wade
Two Way Players Luke Travers
Nae'Quan Tomlin
Chris Livingston
Injuries/Out Max Strus (foot) out
Sam Merrill (hand) questionable
Craig Porter, Jr (hamstring) questionable
Head Coach Kenny Atkinson
Game Notes The Celtics visit the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2nd of 3 meetings between these two teams. The Celtics won the first game 125-105 at Boston on October 29. They will meet for a 3rd, and final, time on March 8. These 2 teams split the series 2-2 last season with each team winning one at home and one on the road.
The Celtics are 142-89 overall, all time against the Cavaliers and they are 55-61 in games played in Cleveland. The Celtics are playing on the second night of back to back games after losing a tough game in Minnesota on Saturday. The Cavaliers were off on Saturday after losing to the Hawks on Friday. The Celtics are 2-1 in the second of back to back games.
The Cavs won 64 games last season and kept their core together over the offseason. They lost Ty Jerome as a free agent to the Grizzlies. They also traded Isaac Okoro to Chicago for Lonzo Ball. Their only other addition is Tyrese Proctor, who they took with the 40th pick in the draft. Other than that, they are fielding the same team that got them the top seed in the East last season. The Celtics are a vastly different team from last year's second seed team.
The Celtics are 9th in the East, half a game behind 8th place Philadelphia, 1.5 games behind 5th place Atlanta, 6th place Cleveland, and 7th place Orlando. They are half a game ahead of 10th place Chicago and 2.5 games ahead of 11th place Milwaukee. The Celtics are 7-6 against Eastern Conference teams and 4-5 on the road. They are 6-4 in their last 10 games and are coming off a loss in their last game.
The Cavaliers are 6th in the East, tied with 5th place Atlanta and 7th place Orlando. They are 1 game behind 4th place New York. They are 1 game ahead of 8th place Philadelpia and 1 .5 games ahead of 9th place Boston. They are 10-7 against Eastern Conference teams and 8-3 at home. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games and have lost their last 2 games.
After this game on the road in Cleveland, the Celtics then have one game at home vs New York. After that, they play at Washington, at home against the Lakers and at Toronto. They have added a game in Milwaukee and one at home against the Pistons during the break for the NBA Cup. After the break, they host Miami, play at Toronto, host Indiana and then head out on a 5 game road trip through Indiana, Portland, Utah, Sacramento and the LA Clippers.
After this game at home against the Celtics, the Cavaliers will play at Indiana and then back home against a trio of Western teams with Portland, San Antonio and Golden State coming to play in Cleveland. Then there is break for the Cup and probably 2 games added for them as were added for the Celtics.
Jayson Tatum remains on the injured list as he rehabs from the torn Achilles. Neemias Queta and Jaylen Brown were both questionable for Saturday's game but both played, as did Derrick White, who was probable. For Cleveland, Max Strus (foot) is out. Sam Merrill (hand) has missed the past 5 games and is questionable. Craig Porter, Jr (hamstring) has missed the past 3 games and is also questionable. Both will be a game time decision.
Key Matchups vs
Payton Pritchard vs Donovan Mitchell
Mitchell is the Cavs best player and he is playing very well so far this season. He is averaging 30.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 50.5% from the field and 38.9% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 block while shooting 41.7% from the field and 55.6% from beyond the arc. He is coming off a 42 point game against Atlanta. The Celtics must stay with him on defense and try to slow him down.
vs
Jordan Walsh vs Evan Mobley
Mobley is a threat on both ends of the floor and he always plays well against the Celtics. He is averaging 18.7 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 49.0% from the field and 37.0% from beyond the arc. in the first game against the Celtics, Mobley finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 blocks but shot just 36.8% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc. He is coming off a 20 point, 14 rebound game against the Hawks. The Celtics need to defend him both in the paint and on the perimeter and they need to try to keep him off the boards.
Honorable Mention Jaylen Brown vs De'Andre Hunter
Hunter is averaging 17.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists while shooting 46.2% from the field and 33.6% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists while shooting just 29.4% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc. He will likely play much better in this one. Jaylen Brown had a big game against the Timberwolves, but may be a bit tired for this one.
Keys to the Game Defense - As always, defense is a key to winning this, and every, game. The Celtics are 16th with a defensive rating of 114.2. The Cavaliers are 7th with a defensive rating of 112.2. The Celtics must make defense a priority and play tough lock down team defense for all 48 minutes. They can't play tough defense for just 2 or 3 quarters and expect the other team to give up.
Rebound - The Celtics are averaging 44.4 rebounds per game (16th) to 43.5 rebounds per game for the Cavaliers (20th). The Celtics will need to crash the boards to keep the Cavs from getting extra possessions and second chance points. Much of rebounding is effort and the Celtics have got to work harder on the boards than the Cavs. But they also have to work hard to rebound for the entire game. Against the Wolves, the Celtics out-rebounded the Wolves 23-15 in the first half but were out-rebounded 22-20 in the second half. They have to give a consistent effort on the boards for the whole game.
Consistency - The Celtics have been able to build leads in most of their games so far. They also have allowed their opponents to come back from those leads to either make the game close or win. They were dominant in the first half against the Timberwolves but then lost their energy and effort in the second half. The Celtics shot 40.9% on threes in the first half, but just 29.2% on threes in the second half. They need to play well and with energy on both ends of the court for all 4 quarters and not allow the Cavaliers to have a big quarter to bury them.
3 Point Shots - When the Celtics make their 3's they are tough to beat but when the 3's aren't falling, the game gets really ugly. The Celtics are 3rd in the league, taking 42.9 threes per game. The Cavs are 1st with 44.6 threes a game. Although the Celtics are 3rd in 3 pointers attempted, they are 18th, shooting 35.7% from beyond the arc. The Cavs are 22nd, shooting 34.8% from beyond the arc. The key is simple. The Celtics must make their threes and they have to defend the perimeter well to keep the Cavs from making theirs.
X-Factors Back to Back On the Road - The Celtics are playing on the road and will need to stay focused in spite of the distractions of travel and playing in front of a hostile crowd. Cavs fans really do not like the Celtics and will likely be loud and antagonistic. They need to come into this game focused and ready to play harder than the Cavs. That may be difficult since the Cavs are rested and the Celtics played a tough game on the road on Saturday. The Celtics will have to dig deep in order to win this one.
Officiating - The officiating is always an x-factor. Sometimes a crew will call the game tight and blow a whistle on every play. Other times they will let them play and let the game get physical. The Celtics need to adjust to the way the game is called and not let missed calls or bad calls affect their focus. If the calls are bad, they just need to play harder to make up for them and not let them lose focus on playing the game.
Topic: Celtics (10-9) at Cavaliers (12-8) Game #20 11/30/25 (Read 220 times)