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The Boston Celtics (21-21) will pay a visit to the Philadelphia 76ers (23-17) on Friday night with tipoff set for 7:00 p.m. ET. The Celtics are coming off back-to-back wins over the Pacers earlier this week, making it three straight as they also knocked off the Knicks 99-75 last Saturday. The Sixers are looking for a rebound win after snapping their seven-game winning streak with a 109-98 loss to the Hornets on Wednesday.
The 76ers are favored by 3.5 points at home, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. They’re at -165 on the moneyline with Boston at +145, while the point total is set at 208.5 for tonight’s contest.
Celtics vs. 76ers, 7:00 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Celtics +3.5 (-110)
Both teams are playing great ball lately, with the Celtics on a three-game winning streak and the Sixers just coming off their seven-game streak. Boston comes in with a pair of elite scorers in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who are both averaging around 25 points per game this season. They’re struggling to stay above .500 but can’t seem to string the results together long enough to make that happen. Philly won the previous meeting on December 20th with a 108-103 final score, but a lot can change in a month. The Celtics are trending up and while the Sixers just won seven straight, it was against weaker teams like the Rockets, Spurs, Magic, Raptors, and the Wizards.
The Sixers have their work cut out for them at home against a solid Boston team. It may be a close game, but I’m picking Boston to cover in this one whether they end up winning outright or not.
Over/Under: Under 208.5 (-110)
Both of these sides play at a relatively slower pace than the majority of the league, and the final score came in under the total last time they met. It has the possibility of going over especially if Tatum and/or Brown go off, but both teams have solid defenses and should end up keeping the score on the lower side. The Sixers have finished under the total in their last three games, while the Celtics have gone under three times in their last five. Take the under in this one as it should be a grind from start to finish.
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