Post Action Betting

Cavaliers burn bettors with massive comeback win over Celtics

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Published March 6, 2024, 5:50 p.m. ET
Dean Wade #32 of the Cleveland Cavaliers talks with Travis and Jason Kelce after the Cavaliers defeated the Boston Celtics.
Dean Wade of the Cleveland Cavaliers talks with Travis and Jason Kelce after the Cavaliers defeated the Boston Celtics. Getty Images

The Cavaliers delivered a massive blow to NBA bettors Tuesday night with a wild comeback over the league-best Celtics. 

Cleveland, which entered the game as 8.5-point home underdogs, fell behind by as many as 22 points early in the fourth quarter with Donovan Mitchell out for the game with a knee injury. 

Enter Dean Wade. 

Wade, who is averaging just 18.9 minutes per game off the bench this season, dropped 20 of his career-high 23 points in the final quarter, leading Cleveland to the largest fourth-quarter comeback in the NBA this season — and in Cavaliers franchise history. 

The Cavs were as high as +4000 on the moneyline during the fourth quarter at FanDuel Sportsbook before storming back, per Ben Fawkes on X.

Boston, which holds onto the best record in the NBA at 48-13, was on an 11-game winning streak coming into the matchup. 

A red-hot Celtics team against a Mitchell-less Cavs, as you could imagine, was remarkably popular with sports bettors. 

Dean Wade led the Cavaliers to the biggest fourth quarter comeback win of the season over the Celtics.
Dean Wade led the Cavaliers to the biggest fourth quarter comeback win of the season over the Celtics. Getty Images

They were the most-bet team to cover during the NBA’s nine-game slate on Tuesday night at BetMGM, according to the sportsbook’s public relations manager John Ewing.

Less than an hour before game time, Boston was getting 62 percent of bets and 77 percent of the handle against the spread at BetMGM. 

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It was the Celtics’ third-biggest upset loss of the season behind a November overtime defeat to the Hornets as nine-point favorites and a February loss to the Lakers, who were without LeBron James and Anthony Davis, as 14-point favorites. 

The Celtics had covered in six straight games coming into the Cavs matchup but haven’t exactly dominated against the spread this season despite their gaudy win-loss record, going 30-28-3 ATS in 2023-24.Â