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- NBA Tips: Thursday Best Bets – 20/11/2025
NBA Tips: Thursday Best Bets – 20/11/2025
(Photo credit to the original owner)
NBA Thursday action features some of primetime matchups. In the morning, we have the 9-3 Rockets taking on the 10-5 Cavs, one of the best games on the slate. Then, Jimmy Buckets is back in Miami when the Golden State Warriors road-trip continues to South Beach. Here are my tips, stats and predictions for Thursday’s NBA slate.
Houston Rockets (9-3) at Cleveland Cavaliers (10-5)
Houston Rockets (9-3) at Cleveland Cavaliers (10-5)
Thursday 20/11/2025 at 11:00am AEDT. Venue: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (Cleveland)
Two of the best teams in the NBA go head to head on Thursday as the Cavs host the Rockets. Here are my predictions and tips for this matchup.
| Best Bet | Over 232.5 pts | $1.85 |
|---|
Last 5 Form
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavs are looking to make it 3 straight wins at home this Thursday. They’re coming off back to back wins over the Bucks by 12 and Grizzles by 8.
Houston Rockets
The Rockets head to Cleveland on a 4 game winning streak. Last game, they beat the Magic by 4 pts in OT at home, making it 3 straight wins in their 3 game home-stand. They beat the Bucks 122-115 in their last road game.
| Team | Opp | Score | Result | H/A | Date | – | Team | Opp | Score | Result | H/A | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLE |
 MIL |
118-106 | W | Home | 18/11/25 | – | HOU |
 ORL |
117-113 | W | Home | 17/11/25 |
| CLE |
 MEM |
108-100 | W | Home | 16/11/25 | – | HOU |
 POR |
140-116 | W | Home | 15/11/25 |
| CLE |
 TOR |
113-126 | L | Home | 14/11/25 | – | HOU |
 WAS |
135-112 | W | Home | 13/11/25 |
| CLE |
 MIA |
130-116 | W | Away | 13/11/25 | – | HOU |
MIL |
122-115 | W | Away | 10/11/25 |
| CLE |
MIA |
138-140 | L | Away | 11/11/25 | – | HOU |
 SAN |
110-121 | L | Away | 08/11/25 |
Head to Head
Houston has won the last 2 meetings, but they’ve both been close games. In the last matchup, the Cavs scored 47 pts in the 4th quarter to almost cap a remarkable comeback.
| Home | Score | Away | Result | Arena | Margin | Total | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLE |
131-135 | HOU |
Rockets won by 4 pts | @ Cleveland | 4 | 266 | Sun 26-Jan-2025 |
| HOU |
109-108 | CLE |
Rockets won by 1 pts | @ Houston | 1 | 217 | Thu 23-Jan-2025 |
Best Bet
The head to head is tight in this matchup as the odds are predicting a close one, so backing the points should be a safer bet. Overall, the trends are saying Over. Houston have a perfect Overs record in their last 6 games (6-0) and also 5-0 on the road. The Rockets are the #1 scoring team in the NBA at 124.8 ppg and Cleveland aren’t far behind on 120.9. The Over also has a 6-2 record in their last 8 games.
Golden State Warriors (9-7) at Miami Heat (8-6)
Thursday 20/11/2025 at 11:30am AEDT. Venue: Kaseya Center (Miami)
Jimmy Butler returns to Miami as a Warrior this Thursday when the Heat host the Warriors. Here are my tips for this NBA Thursday matchup.
| Best Bet | Miami Heat -6.5 | $1.91 |
|---|
Last 5 Form
Miami Heat
The Heat put a 2 game losing streak behind them with a nice 115-113 win over the Knicks on their home court a few days ago. They hold a 6-1 record against the spread in their last 7 home games.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors 3 game winning streak ended last time out as they went down to the Magic 121-113. Despite the loss, Steph Curry was cooking with 34 pts and 7 threes. Jimmy Butler also scored 33 pts, his highest points this season.
| Team | Opp | Score | Result | H/A | Date | – | Team | Opp | Score | Result | H/A | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIA |
 NY |
115-113 | W | Home | 18/11/25 | – | GS |
ORL |
113-121 | L | Away | 19/11/25 |
| MIA |
NY |
132-140 | L | Away | 15/11/25 | – | GS |
 NOR |
124-106 | W | Away | 17/11/25 |
| MIA |
CLE |
116-130 | L | Home | 13/11/25 | – | GS |
SAN |
109-108 | W | Away | 16/11/25 |
| MIA |
CLE |
140-138 | W | Home | 11/11/25 | – | GS |
SAN |
125-120 | W | Away | 13/11/25 |
| MIA |
POR |
136-131 | W | Home | 09/11/25 | – | GS |
 OKC |
102-126 | L | Away | 12/11/25 |
Head to Head
It’s been all about the Heat in the last 2 matchups with Miami winning by 10+ on both occasions.
| Home | Score | Away | Result | Arena | Margin | Total | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIA |
112-86 | GS |
Heat won by 26 pts | @ Miami | 26 | 198 | Wed 26-Mar-2025 |
| GS |
98-114 | MIA |
Heat won by 16 pts | @ San Francisco | 16 | 212 | Wed 8-Jan-2025 |
Best Bet
Golden State are coming off a brutal schedule that has seen them play 9 road games in their last 11. So, the Heat should be hard to beat on Thursday. Miami are playing solid Basketball at the moment, having covered in 4 of their last 6 games. They also have an excellent record against Golden State, covering the line in 5 of the last 7 meetings.
