Senior Writer Vegas Matty previews Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ers.
The Philadelphia 76ers (33-31) have been playing as well as any team in the Eastern Conference over the last couple months, but the Boston Celtics (46-16) have still owned them since Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce have been playing together. The 76ers will try to beat that trio at home for the first time in eight meetings when they square off against the Celtics (-2) in an Atlantic Division clash on Friday.
Despite the team’s hot play recently, Philadelphia still sits 14 games behind Boston in the Atlantic. If the playoffs started today, the 76ers would be matched up with Chicago, the only team with a better record than them in the last seven weeks. They are 16-6 over that span and 14-8 against the spread after losing at home to Oklahoma City on Tuesday in overtime, 110-105.
The Celtics are also coming off a home loss on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers, who built a 60-42 halftime lead and then held on for a 108-103 victory. Allen led Boston with a team-high 23 points while new addition Nenad Krstic scored a season-high 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Krstic was dealt to the team along with Jeff Green for starting center Kendrick Perkins.
With the loss, the Celtics saw their lead for the top seed in the East drop to 1.5 games over the Bulls and 3.5 over Miami after the Heat beat the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, ending their five-game losing streak. They are 12-2 vs. Philly since Garnett and Allen joined Pierce in Beantown, although the Sixers have gone 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings.
The two games between the teams this season were decided by a combined five points, including a 102-101 road win for Boston back on December 9. Allen scored a game-high 23 points, making 7 of his 10 shots from the field and all seven of his free-throw attempts. Philadelphia had seven players score in double figures and was led by Jodie Meeks with 19 points while Thaddeus Young and Louis Williams each added 16.
The rematch a couple weeks later was a much different game as the Celtics won a defensive battle at home, 84-80. The 76ers actually led 44-38 at halftime but saw Allen again step up with a game-high 22 points for Boston. The OVER is 8-2 in Philly’s last 10 games overall and 5-1 in the past six for the Celtics. The OVER is also 5-3-1 in the last nine games between the teams.
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