On the night before Thanksgiving Day, a pair of teams will square off in a cross-conference clash in Boston. The Boston Celtics are set to face the Dallas Mavericks at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Each team have winning records and are led by their own MVP candidate. The Celtics have the best record in the NBA at 13-4 overall, while the Mavericks have a 9-7 clip entering Wednesday’s matchup. Let’s dive into the Mavericks-Celtics prediction and NBA odds.
Be sure to check our OddsShopper tool for the best NBA odds ahead of tonight’s action.
NBA Odds: Mavericks-Celtics Odds
Mavericks: +4.5 (-110)
Celtics: -4.5 (-110)
Over/under: 218.5
Boston’s Win Streak Finally Snapped
All good things must come to an end, as the Boston Celtics saw their nine-game win streak snapped with a 121-107 defeat in a road contest with the Chicago Bulls on Monday night.
Boston’s win streak ended at nine games and lasted 16 days, a stretch that included a handful of victories against teams with a .500 or better record. The Celtics have managed to post the best record in the NBA, despite having multiple key players miss games at some point this season. Robert Williams III has yet to play for Boston.
Based on the overall numbers, Monday’s loss to the Bulls will likely just be a blip on the Celtics’ season. The Celtics are 9-8 against the spread and 9-7 on Overs. They rank second in the league in scoring with an average of 119.4 points per game, which comes after pacing the NBA in scoring defense a year ago during their run to the NBA Finals.
Luka Leads the Way
Through 15 games of his Age 23 season, Luka Doncic is putting together a MVP campaign for the Dallas Mavericks. He is averaging 33.5 points per game, leading the league in scoring and is one of six players to average over 30 points per contest.
Doncic is doing it all. He’s producing 9.1 rebounds and 8.1 assists per contest, shooting 49.5% from the floor ahead of tonight’s tilt. He has scored at least 33 points in three of the last four outings, so it will be hard to not bet Over on his player props in this marquee matchup.
It should be no surprise, but Doncic is the favorite to win the MVP award at all sportsbooks. He has a +270 price at FanDuel Sportsbook, which edges out Giannis Antetokounmpo’s price of +290. Jayson Tatum of the Celtics is third in MVP odds with a value of +450.
Final Mavericks-Celtics Prediction & Pick
This will be a good game to watch before waking up to eat turkey tomorrow on Thanksgiving Day. The Celtics might have had their win streak end last time out, but we should expect them to bounce back in a hurry against a Western Conference foe.
A 4.5-point spread is a tough pill to swallow, though, so I prefer taking the first-half line instead. The Celtics are favored by 2.5 points, so we just need them to lead by a possession after the first two quarters. Fresh off their first loss in 16 days, look for the Celtics to set the tone against the Mavericks.
Best Mavericks-Celtics Bet: Boston -2.5 (-110) in first half at BetMGM
