The Boston Celtics (45-18, 25-7 Home), one of the league’s top scoring teams, play host to the Brooklyn Nets (34-28, 16-16 Away) on Friday. Brooklyn was outplayed by the New York Knicks 142-118 at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, their fourth loss in a row. Cameron Johnson was a top performer in defeat with 33 points. The Nets are the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Boston won their fifth straight home game on Wednesday at TD Garden, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-113. Jayson Tatum had 41 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists, carrying the team. The Celtics are the second seed in the Eastern Conference, zero games behind the Milwaukee Bucks.
It’s the final meeting of the season between the teams. Boston will be looking for a season sweep against Brooklyn after taking each of their three prior games, the last of which was a 139-96 victory at TD Garden on February 1, their 10th straight head-to-head victory.
Tatum led the Celtics with 31 points and nine rebounds. Kyrie Irving had 20 points in the loss. Nic Claxton and Cam Thomas, averaging 12.5 and 11.2 points per game, respectively, have led the Nets in scoring this season. Claxton also has grabbed 9.0 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Ben Simmons is dishing 5.8 assists per game.
Tatum and Jaylen Brown have powered the Celts on offense, averaging 30.3 and 26.3 points per game, respectively. Tatum ranks sixth in the league. Tatum also has averaged 8.7 rebounds per game. Marcus Smart has doled out 6.7 assists per game.
With 117.7 points per game, the Celtics are one of the most explosive offenses in the league (4th). The Celtics have found success in recent clashes between the teams at TD Garden, winning six of the last 10. Brooklyn is looking to avoid a seventh consecutive road defeat this season.
Brooklyn is 2-8 in the last 10 games with an average margin of -9.5 (110.0-119.5). For the season, the Nets are averaging 113.7 points per game, compared to 113.4 for opponents. Boston has an 8-2 record over the last 10, scoring 117.8 points per game on average while holding opponents to 113.0 (+4.8 margin).
NETS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Mikal Bridges: 35.2 | 25.9 | +9.3
Ben Simmons: 10.0 | 18.4 | -8.4
Points per game:
Mikal Bridges: 26.8 | 17.9 | +8.9
Nic Claxton: 7.4 | 12.5 | -5.1
Rebounds per game:
Ben Simmons: 4.0 | 6.0 | -2.0
Assists per game:
Spencer Dinwiddie: 7.2 | 5.4 | +1.8
Ben Simmons: 4.0 | 5.8 | -1.8
CELTICS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Grant Williams: 9.5 | 15.0 | -5.5
Assists per game:
Jayson Tatum: 7.4 | 4.7 | +2.7
Marcus Smart: 3.2 | 6.7 | -3.5
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
Boston Celtics -11.5 (-105)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
