3:40 pm
February 21

Celtics @ Pelicans

Who will WIN this matchup?

Boston Celtics (15-14)

@ New Orleans Pelicans (12-17)

 

Current odds:

Boston Celtics: (-135)

New Orleans Pelicans: (+115)

 

• The line for this game is Celtics by 2 points.

• The Boston Celtics are playing better after putting a season-worst stretch behind them. On Sunday they visit the New Orleans Pelicans, who seem unable to solve their ongoing defensive problems. The Celtics beat the visiting Atlanta Hawks 121-109 on Friday to win for the second time in three games after experiencing a season-worst stretch of seven losses in 10 contests.

• Walker returned after sitting out a loss to the Hawks on Wednesday for load management. In his last four games, he is averaging 22.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists while shooting 17 of 31 on 3-pointers. The Celtics won three of those games.

• Boston, which committed 18 turnovers, saw a 27-point, third-quarter lead shrink to nine points before Daniel Theis, returning from a two-game absence due to a finger injury, scored 10 points in the final four-plus minutes.

• The Celtics, who are beginning a three-game road trip in New Orleans, tied a season-best by making 55.6 percent (50 of 90) of field goals on Friday. They could be in for more offensive success against the Pelicans, who had an 11-point lead against visiting Phoenix after three quarters Friday but got outscored 41-12 in the fourth quarter of a 132-114 loss. It was the largest one-quarter scoring deficit in franchise history.

• Jae Crowder made three 3-pointers as the Suns turned the game around by starting the fourth quarter with a 17-2 run that grew to 27-5.

• The Pelicans have struggled with their defense consistently, but especially as they have lost five of their last six and allowed an average of 127.7 points. Phoenix made 58 percent of its shots, including hitting 22 of 39 on 3-pointers.

• The fourth quarter wound up being historically bad because it wasn’t just the defense that failed. The Pelicans’ 12 points in the period were a season-low for any quarter and they had seven turnovers that led to 14 Suns points.

5/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Boston Celtics
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