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The Philadelphia 76ers (10-5) will be looking to complete the two-game mini series sweep over the Boston Celtics when they play Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers defeated the Celtics 117-109 on Wednesday night, behind a tremendous performance from All-star center Joel Embiid.
Embiid posted a game-high 42 points (12-19 FG, 17-21 FT), to go along with 10 rebounds. He was one of five Sixers played that reached double-figures. The Sixers also did a great job taking care of the ball as they only had nine turnovers compared to the Celtics, who had 16.
As for Boston, Kemba Walker looked better in his second game back from injury, posting 19 points and six assists in 22 minutes. Jaylen Brown led all Celtics players in scoring with 26 points on 10-of-24 shooting from the field and 3-of-10 shooting from behind the arc. Brown was one of three Celtics’ starters in double figures.
What can we expect from these two teams in the second game of this mini-series? And who will be step up once again to lift their team to victory? To answer those questions and more, here is our pick against the spread and a player prop you need to watch out for.
Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 7:30 p.m. ET ESPN
Pick ATS: Sixers -4.5
The line for Friday’s night game is currently set at 4.5 points, with the Sixers favored at home. When these two teams played on Wednesday night, the Sixers were five points favorites and covered the number late in the fourth quarter.
Heading into the second game of this mini series, Philadelphia should be able to cover based on what we saw from them in this situation last week. If you remember, the Sixers played Miami for two-straight games, but failed to cover the first contest as they escaped with a three-point victory. However in the second game, Philadelphia won by 17 points and easily covered the spread.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Celtics have not fared well against the spread in two-game mini series. To begin January, Boston played the Detroit Pistons and did not cover in neither game. That being said, I’d expect it to be another close game, but I think Philly’s offense brings it home late in the fourth quarter.
Player prop: Jaylen Brown O2.5 3-pointers made (+110)
Unlike Wednesday night’s player prop bet, which fell only three points short. The prop bet for Friday night should be a winnable on a single ticket. This season, Jaylen Brown is shooting 39.5 percent from three-point range on 6.2 attempts per game. He has gone over 2.5 made three-pointers in seven out of 13 games already. Furthermore, in the Celtics’ last five games, the former top-three draft picks is averaging 2.8 made three-pointers out of 7.8 attempts. Without Tatum, he is the top-two scoring option for the Celtics along with Kemba Walker.
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