The Philadelphia 76ers will try and stave off elimination for the second-straight time in a trip to TD Garden for Game 5 against the Boston Celtics in their best-of-seven Atlantic Division showdown in this year’s NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals. Game time on TNT is set for 8 p.m.
Philadelphia at Boston Game Overview
Philadelphia was initially favored to win this series, and it has closed as the favorite in each of the first four games. However, the reality of this situation is a 3-1 series deficit to its bitter division rival. Monday’s desperation 103-92 victory at home in Game 4 as seven-point favorites earned the Sixers the chance to play at least one more game in their most successful season since the 2011/2012 campaign. They went 4-1 both straight-up and against the spread against Miami in the opening round before losing three of four (SU and ATS) to Boston.
The 76ers have one of the brightest futures in the NBA behind Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, but each of these dynamic players has demonstrated their youth and lack of experience on the bigger stage of the conference semifinals. Each player did post a double-double in points and rebounds as part of the effort to keep this series alive on Monday night. The win in Game 4 was a solid team effort for four full quarters, but Philly is going to have to play beyond expectations to force a Game 6.
Boston had its hands full in its opening-round series against Milwaukee with the home team coming away with the SU win in all seven games. The No. 2 seed in the East is now 8-3 ATS in its first 11 playoffs games this season with a perfect 6-0 record both SU and ATS on its home court. The total went OVER the closing line in the Celtics’ first two home games in this series after going OVER in three of their four home games against the Bucks.
Veteran poise and depth of scoring have carried Boston in this series. After blowing out the youthful Sixers by 16 points in Game 1, the Celtics rallied to erase a 22-point deficit to win Game 2 by five points as 3.5-point home underdogs. They needed overtime in Game 3 to take the commanding lead in this series and they had an opportunity to pull off the sweep on Monday night deep into the fourth quarter. Terry Rozier continues to lead Boston in scoring in the postseason with 18.3 points per game along with Jayson Tatum and veteran forward Al Horford is averaging 17.2 points and a team-high 8.7 rebounds.
Get more details: Philadelphia at Boston NBA Match-Up
Philadelphia at Boston Betting Trends
- The Sixers are 12-3 ATS in their last 15 games following an ATS win, and they are 14-5 ATS in their previous 19 games coming off a straight up win. The total has gone OVER in five of their last six road games.
- The Celtics have covered ATS in 11 of their last 12 games played at home and they are 6-1 ATS in their previous seven games played in this round of the playoffs. The total has gone OVER in 14 of their last 17 home games.
- Head-to-head in this matchup, the road team is 11-4 ATS in the last 15 meetings, and the total has gone OVER in eight of the previous 11 meetings in Boston.
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