Game: Atlanta Hawks @ Boston Celtics
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Odds: Hawks +13, Celtics -13
Total: 229
Tuesday night’s Game 5 of the Eastern Conference first-round series between the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks will be played back in Boston. Before splitting the last two games in Atlanta, Boston took a 2-0 series lead at home. Sunday’s 129-121 victory put the No. 2 seed on the verge of moving on. Six Celtics scored in double figures, led by Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum who each scored 31 points.
The Celtics do not want to take any chances this time around after having the middle two of their four 2022 postseason series—against Milwaukee and Miami—extended to the maximum seven games en route to last year’s NBA Finals.
Atlanta has an even bigger uphill battle. Hawks guard Dejounte Murray won’t play after making contact with referee Gediminas Petraitis at the conclusion of Game 4. He was suspended for one game and forfeited a game check. Through the first four games of the series, Murray has averaged 25.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 2.3 steals.
Smart played through a lower back contusion on Sunday, but Brown did not wear the mask he had been wearing to protect his fractured cheekbone from earlier in the season. Smart is listed as questionable for tonight.
The Celtics’ second-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers will start on Saturday in Boston if they defeat Atlanta on Tuesday. Joel Embiid, a star player for the 76ers, may miss the first game of that series due to a knee sprain.
The Hawks will have a difficult road ahead of them against a team they haven’t beaten in five straight games this season before last Friday. In Game 3, Atlanta won at home 130-122.
The Celtics reverted back to their strong defensive principles on Sunday after seeing the Hawks shoot 56.0 percent in Game 3. Boston never looked back after leading 33-19 with just under two minutes left in the first quarter. In the loss in Game 4, Trae Young led the Hawks with 35 points and added 15 assists.
In their playoff history against Boston, the Hawks have won back-to-back Game 5s, but this one is crucial. Atlanta is now just 2-5 SU and 2-5 ATS in their last seven games. In their last nine against Boston, the Hawks are 1-8 SU and ATS. The Hawks are also just 2-6 SU in their last eight road games.
Boston, on the other hand, has won six of its last seven games. The Celtics have been great against the number too going 7-1 ATS in their last eight games. Boston is 5-0 ATS in its last five home games and 6-0 ATS in the last six games against Atlanta at the Garden.
The first two games of the series went Under the total whereas Games 3 and 4 both went Over. The two teams combined to score 250 or more points in the last two games. The last ten games between the two teams have averaged 226.3 points.
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