The Boston Celtics (31-12, 14-7 Away), one of the league’s top scoring teams, travel to face the Charlotte Hornets (11-32, 5-14 Home) on Saturday. Boston defeated the Brooklyn Nets 109-98 at Barclays Center on Thursday, their fifth consecutive win.
Jayson Tatum was the top scorer with 20 points. Marcus Smart was another standout performer with 16 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds. The Celtics are the first seed in the Eastern Conference, one game ahead of the Brooklyn Nets.
Charlotte dropped their third in a row on Thursday at Scotiabank Arena, falling to the Toronto Raptors 124-114. LaMelo Ball had 32 points and seven assists in the loss, carrying the team. The Hornets are the 14th seed in the Eastern Conference.
It’s the final meeting of the season between the teams. Boston will be pursuing a season sweep against Charlotte after taking the only prior meeting 140-105 at TD Garden in November 2022, their third straight head-to-head victory.
Tatum led the Celtics with 35 points, while Smart added 22 points and 15 assists. Jalen McDaniels had 24 points in defeat. Tatum and Jaylen Brown, averaging 30.6 and 27.2 points per game, respectively, have led the Celts in scoring this season. Both are among the NBA’s top scorers, as Tatum is fourth and Brown is 10th.
Tatum also has grabbed 8.2 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Smart is dishing 7.2 assists per game.Terry Rozier (21.0 ppg) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (20.2) have powered the Hornets’ offense. Rozier also has recorded 5.3 assists per game.
Mason Plumlee has collected 9.6 rebounds per game. The Celtics are averaging 118.4 points per game, ranking as one of the most explosive offenses in the league (2nd). The Celtics are 7-3 in the last 10 trips to Spectrum Center.
Boston is looking for a fourth consecutive road win this season. Charlotte has dropped three in a row at home this season. In the last 10 games, Boston is 8-2 with an average margin of +7.0 (119.5-112.5). Charlotte has gone 2-8 over the last 10, allowing 120.3 points per game on average while scoring only 115.0 (-5.3 margin).
CELTICS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Assists per game:
Jayson Tatum: 5.6 | 4.2 | +1.4
HORNETS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Nick Richards: 4.7 | 14.7 | -10.0
Points per game:
Terry Rozier: 26.6 | 21.0 | +5.6
Rebounds per game:
Nick Richards: 1.0 | 5.8 | -4.8
Assists per game:
LaMelo Ball: 10.6 | 8.1 | +2.5
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
Boston Celtics -8.5 (-105)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
