How to watch the Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers on Feb. 28, 2025
The two best teams in the NBA’s Eastern Conference will square off on Friday, Feb. 28 as the first place Cleveland Cavaliers will visit the Beantown to take on the second place Boston Celtics. The Cavs have been the class of the East all season long, but both teams enter the game incredibly hot. Coming into the game, Cavs are riding an eight-game winning streak. Their last loss came on Feb. 4 at home against the Celtics. For their part, Boston is 8-2 over their last 10 games and are looking for their second-straight win against Cleveland and to gain some ground in the conference pecking order. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. ET while fans in the Buckeye State can watch on FanDuel Sports Network Ohio while Boston-area fans can watch on NBC Sports Boston. For hoops fans not in the home markets of the two clubs, I recommend watching with a 50% off a subscription to Sling TV.
How to watch Celtics vs. Cavs
- When: Friday, Feb. 28, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. ET
- TV: ESPN, FanDuel Sports Network Ohio, and NBC Sports Boston
- Stream: Watch with 50% off a subscription to Sling TV.
- From anywhere: Watch with a subscription to a VPN.
Everything you need to know to stream Celtics vs. Cavs:
Why we recommend Sling TV to watch Celtics vs. Cavs
Over the next four months, basketball fans will be in heaven as the NBA works its way to the Larry O’Brien Trophy and [college basketball marches toward Madness. As both the Association and the NCAA head into the regular season’s home stretch and playoff runs, Sling is the best way to catch all of the action. The streamer is the cheapest way to get national broadcast channels and the biggest cable networks as well, which will be especially important as Sling carries every network that will air pro and college postseason games.
Normally, Sling costs $46 per month, but you can currently get 50% off your first month of service, meaning that you can watch a month of the college and NBA seasons for as little as $23. Sling has two different base packages, Orange and Blue. You can subscribe to one or both. If you do opt to combine Orange and Blue it will run you $61 monthly — still substantially cheaper than the comparable live TV streaming services — but with the first-month deal, you can stream everything on both packages for just $30.50.
Every nationally broadcast NBA game in the regular and postseason will on ESPN, ABC, or TNT, so that means that there is no cheaper option to watch all of the hoops action than Sling TV.
Sling TV
Sling TV is The Streamable’s choice for cord-cutters on a budget. Sling is a live TV streaming service with multiple channel packages. The $45.99/month Sling Orange plan offers about 30 channels, including Disney Channel and ESPN. The $45.99/month Sling Blue plan offers about 40 channels, including ABC, Fox, and NBC in major markets.
You can combine Orange+Blue for a total of $60.99 / month. Sling also offers many channel add-on packages starting at $6/month.
Related: Sling Is the Cheapest Way to Watch Nationally Broadcast NBA Games
Can you watch Celtics vs. Cavs for free?
If you are just looking for a streaming service to watch this specific game and nothing else, there are options available for you. DIRECTV STREAM, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, and YouTube TV all offer free trials, but they vary in length, so be wary. DIRECTV STREAM’s industry-leading trial runs for five days, while Hulu + Live TV’s is a solid three days.
Those are pretty straightforward, but when it comes to the sports-minded streamer Fubo, things can get a little complicated. As The Streamable’s expert David Satin discovered when signing up for the services, figuring out how long Fubo’s trial is — even as you are signing up — can be a bit difficult. Nonetheless, it will be at least one day, with the potential to be as many as seven, depending on a wide range of factors that Fubo does not share publicly.
The YouTube TV trial is said to be “up to two weeks,” but can be as short as two days. So it is difficult to ascertain what you are actually getting before you go through the signup process.
If you are looking to watch the game for free, I would recommend DIRECTV STREAM, because that streamer has the longest guaranteed free trial.
| DIRECTV | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube TV | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free 3-Day Trial | Free Trial | Save with Sling | Free Trial | |||||
| $20.99 | $9.99 | $28.99 | $25 | $19.99 | $29.99 | $45.99 | $45.99 | $64.99 | ||
| ESPN | + $24 | + $59 | + $61 | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | |
Watch a preview of the Celtics vs. Cavs
What are all of the streamers you can use to watch Celtics vs. Cavs?
Fortunately for basketball fans, there are six different streaming services that will stream the Celtics vs. Cavs game, so you have options to choose from if you don’t already subscribe to any of them. We discussed Sling TV and the four free trial options above, but there is one more, and it offers a different type of streaming arrangement.
If you are looking to find a long-term streaming service and want to avoid the potential of having to pay more if price hikes strike, then DIRECTV via Internet is your best bet. Packages start as low as $70 per month and come with a two-year price guarantee. This, of course, locks you into a two-year contract, but with prices increasing fairly regularly, it is understandable why this would be an attractive offer to many people.
Ultimately, there are tons of different ways to stream the game, and while we recommend Sling TV as the best way to stream all of the college and pro basketball season, you have plenty of options to find the platform that meets your needs.
→ Give our new Streaming Companion tool a try
How to watch Celtics vs. Cavs from anywhere
If you’ll be away from home and can’t watch the game as you normally would, you can still catch all of the action no matter where you are in the world with a VPN. A VPN can be used on your phone, tablet, or computer and make you appear to be back home — even when you’re not — making sure you feel at home no matter where you are. A VPN is a safe and secure way to stay protected online while streaming your favorite sports, movies, and shows on the go. Keep in mind that you will still need to be subscribed to a live TV streaming like Sling TV in order to stream the Celtics vs. Cavs game with a VPN.
NordVPN is one of the best providers around, at one of the best prices. Currently, you can get two full years of protection for just $3.59 per month — plus you’ll get three extra months FREE. A high-speed VPN with best-in-class security that can be used on up to 10 devices at once — what more could you ask for? Simply sign up, install the software on your device of choice, and start streaming just as you would back home. It couldn’t be easier!
While NordVPN is our recommendation for the best VPN to use while you are traveling, there are a number of other high-quality options available depending on what you are looking for.
- Best Features: ExpressVPN | Starting at $5 per month
- Best Budget Option: Surfshark | Starting at $2.50 per month
- Best Free Option: Proton VPN | Free plan available