Brooklyn Nets (24-13) vs Boston Celtics (19-17)
Game Info: Thursday, March 11, 2021 at 7:30 pm (Barclays Center)
Betting Odds: Brooklyn Nets -3 -- Over/Under: 233 Click Here for the Latest Odds
The Boston Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets do battle at the Barclays Center on Thursday night.
The Boston Celtics have been in fine form as they were riding a four-game win streak into the All-Star break after taking down the Raptors in a 132-125 home win on Thursday. Jayson Tatum led the team with 27 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, Jaylen Brown added 21 points, Grant Williams scored 17 points on seven of nine shooting off the bench while Kemba Walker chipped in with 15 points and six assists. As a team, the Celtics shot a sizzling 60 percent from the field and 13 of 29 from the 3-point line as they looked to be in trouble after allowing Raptors to pour in 70 points in the first half, before taking control of the game in the third quarter where they held the Raptors to just 22 points to open up a 12-point lead.
Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets have been on an absolute tear lately as they’ve won 10 of their past 11 games and they will be gunning for a third straight win after blowing past the Rockets in a 132-114 road win last Wednesday. James Harden led the team with a triple-double of 29 points with 10 rebounds and 14 assists, Kyrie Irving added 24 points and six assists, Joe Harris scored 19 points on seven of nine shooting while Bruce Brown chipped in with 17 points and seven assists. As a team, the Nets shot a sizzling 57 percent from the field and 17 of 35 from the 3-point line as they poured in 67 points in the first half to take an early double-digit lead, before putting the bad to bed early in the third quarter where they led by as many as 23 points.
Looking at the betting trends, the Celtics are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a winning record, 0-6 ATS in their last six road games and 2-5 ATS in their last seven games overall. The Nets are 5-0 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record, 5-2 ATS in their last seven home games and 10-1 ATS in their last 11 games overall.
Head to head, the over is 4-1 in the last five meetings overall, the Celtics are 0-4 ATS in the last four meetings in Brooklyn and the Celtics are 2-6 ATS in the last eight meetings overall.
Kevin Durant has been ruled out for this game, so the Nets will once again be shorthanded, but that hasn’t slowed them down lately as they’ve won 10 of their last 11 games, while the Celtics are expecting Marcus Smart to return to the lineup which is a major boost. This should be a close one and there’s a lot to like about the Celtics in this spot, but the Nets have been on fire and they are 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings in Brooklyn. With that being said, I’m taking the Nets to get the win and cover in this one.