Emirates NBA Cup: Cavs vs. Celtics showdown tips off crucial week ...

• Get NBA League Pass TODAY >

Sometimes the stars align and make everyone happy. Such is the case Tuesday night in the NBA, when the unbeaten Cleveland Cavaliers face the defending champion Boston Celtics at TD Garden (7 p.m. ET, TNT).

Every box gets checked and every itch gets scratched with this one. While there are five other Emirates NBA Cup Group Play games on the schedule, including TNT’s nightcap of Oklahoma City at San Antonio (9:30 p.m. ET), one game is going to demand the eyeballs.

Even some of sports’ most time-honored cliches — don’t skip steps, one game at a time — got swept aside heading toward this clash.

The Cavaliers (1-0 in Group C) have been getting asked about it since their sterling 15-0 start to the season reached a dozen. The Celtics (0-1 in Group C) have played only once since Wednesday’s game and, in needing overtime to beat Toronto Saturday, looked like they might have been looking ahead, too.

After all, it’s been nearly 29 years since the NBA’s reigning champs have taken on an opponent riding a winning streak of 15 games or more. In January 1996, Chicago nudged its run to 16 by beating the Rockets in Houston.

There were only two previous occurrences. In 1972, the L.A. Lakers put their 33-game winning streak on the line in Milwaukee and lost. Two years earlier, the Bucks had a 16-gamer snapped at home by the Knicks.

When you realize the players involved in those three — Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson, Willis Reed and Walt Frazier — it can’t help but elevate the status of and expectations for this game tonight on Causeway St.

“It’s great for the NBA, right?,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said Sunday. “I think everybody’s going to be watching. I know our guys are anxious, I know they remember last year.”

Boston bounced the Cavaliers from the Eastern Conference semifinals in five games last spring, sweeping the final three.

Said Atkinson: “We’re going well, they’re going well. Boston Garden, what’s better than that? It’s just great for the league, great for our franchise. We’re excited about it.”

For the Cavaliers, this is a chance for both payback and history – they’re currently tied for the longest unbeaten start to a season, so 16-0 would give them second place behind Golden State’s 24-0 in 2015-16.

For the Celtics, it’s an opportunity to go from hunted to hunter. And they’re already a little cranky about a 4-2 home record, having gone 37-4 at TD Garden last season.

The matchup is elite: Cleveland and Boston rank No. 1 and 2 in offensive rating, with the Cavs sixth defensively and the Celtics ninth. The playoff series in May was determined in the trenches, with Boston grabbing a 221-177 rebounding edge while getting and making 30 more free throws.

The NBA, meanwhile, gets a compelling Cup game, keeping focus on its second in-season tournament thanks to both clubs landing in the East C grouping.

Here’s a breakdown of each group’s upcoming week.

East A

Orlando Magic (2-0)

Two games in, the Magic are +37 in the points differential tiebreaker, should they need it. They close out group play on the road, at Brooklyn Nov. 29 and at New York Dec. 3.

New York Knicks (2-0)

One of five teams to start 2-0, which gives it a leg up in the chase for the East’s wild-card spot. No Cup games this week either.

Brooklyn Nets (0-1)

Home against Charlotte Tuesday, at Philadelphia Friday for consecutive group tests.

Charlotte Hornets (0-1)

Running a 25-point deficit after their Cup opener at Orlando, they hit the road again Tuesday to face the Nets in Brooklyn.

Philadelphia 76ers (0-2 )

Already swamped with issues/injuries, the Sixers will try to snag a win Friday against the Nets and dig out of their -24 points hole.

East B

Detroit Pistons (2-0)

Look at the Pistons, on track to win something — East Group B! — for the first time since they won the Central Division and two playoff series in 2008. They have no Cup games until Nov. 29 at Indiana.

Milwaukee Bucks (1-0)

The Bucks play host to the Pacers Friday in a renewal of the spiciest rivalry in the Cup’s inaugural season.

Miami Heat (1-1)

After splitting their road games, the Heat are home for their last two group games (Milwaukee, Toronto) next week.

Indiana Pacers (0-1)  

Starting Monday at Toronto, the Pacers faced six of 11 on the road, wrapping up a three-game trip in Milwaukee Friday.

Toronto Raptors (0-2)

The Raptors got outscored by 14 at Milwaukee and by four vs. Detroit. No Cup games until Nov. 29 in Miami.

East C

Atlanta Hawks (2-0)

While the Cavaliers and the Celtics tussle for conference supremacy, the Hawks can seize control of East C when they play at Chicago on Friday.

Cleveland Cavaliers (1-0)

Cleveland amassed 144 points on the Bulls in its group opener Friday, one of eight times this season it has won by 10 points or more.

Boston Celtics (0-1)

The defending NBA champs get two shots at a Group victory, facing the Cavs on Tuesday and the Wizards in D.C. on Friday.

Washington Wizards (0-1)

The Wizards are home against East C rival Boston on Friday, only their second home game in a stretch of 7-of-9 on the road.

Chicago Bulls (0-1)

The Bulls went 0-4 in Cup play in 2023-24, so they’ll seek their first-ever victory when Atlanta plays at United Center on Friday.

Here’s a breakdown of each group’s upcoming week.

West A

Houston Rockets (1-0)

You can boost your point differential by outscoring foes or by clamping down. The Rockets, +21 after one did the latter Friday, holding the Clippers to 37.8% shooting, including 10-of-40 on 3-pointers. They are home vs. Portland on Friday.

Portland Trail Blazers (1-0)

The Blazers beat Minnesota in their first Group game but face Houston in the middle of three road games in four nights.

Minnesota Timberwolves (1-1)

The Wolves are done with group road games. They’ll get the Rockets and the Clippers at Target Center next week.

Sacramento Kings (0-1)

The leading scorer of Cup play is De’Aaron Fox, whose 60 points vs. Minnesota went for naught in the overtime loss. They’ll travel to L.A. to face the Clippers on Friday.

L.A. Clippers (0-1)

The Kings game concludes a three-game homestand for the Clippers, who then will face the Wolves Nov. 29 at the end of a four-game trip.

West B

Oklahoma City Thunder (1-0)

Like West A, West B still is wide open without a two-game winner. The Thunder denied the Suns that status Friday, winning 99-83, and get their shot at a second victory Tuesday at San Antonio.

L.A. Lakers (1-0)

The defending Cup champions take a five-game winning streak overall and a pristine 7-0 Cup mark into their home game Tuesday vs. Utah.

Phoenix Suns (1-1)

The Suns face no Group play this week, with a six-game homestand that will include their Cup games vs. the Lakers (Nov. 26) and the Spurs (Dec. 3).

San Antonio Spurs (0-1)

San Antonio is another team in search of a Cup victory, going 0-4 last year and losing by five to the Lakers Friday.

Utah Jazz (0-1)

The Jazz’s Cup fate might be on the line in their road test against the Lakers on Tuesday. They are -8 in points and conclude their group games at OKC on Dec. 3.

West C

Golden State Warriors (2-0)

The Warriors took care of their Group home games last week but still have to play at New Orleans on Friday and at Denver on Dec. 3. Their +8 differential tops this group.

New Orleans Pelicans (1-0)

The Pelicans’ lone victory in their current 1-7 stretch — and their only game this season holding a team under 100 points — came over Denver in Group play Friday.

Dallas Mavericks (0-1)

The Mavs can possibly make or definitely break their Cup ambitions when they face the Pelicans in Dallas on Tuesday and the Nuggets in Denver on Friday.

Memphis Grizzlies (0-1)

Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, their resounding victory over Denver Sunday didn’t count for Cup credit. They face the Nuggets again two days later, again at FedEx Forum.

Denver Nuggets (0-1)

The Nuggets won two Cup games at home last year but are 0-3 on the road across two tourneys, including Friday’s loss at New Orleans.

* * *

Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Bros. Discovery.