Boston will try to strike while the iron is hot when they host Orlando on Friday night. With Cleveland reeling, the Celtics could be up by over a game in first place in the Eastern Conference heading into the month of April. It could have been better, but Boston fell in their recent contest against Milwaukee. The Magic have been an even 3-3 in their last six games, losing to the Thunder in overtime after getting torched against Toronto. Tipoff is set for 7:30 PM Eastern time and the game will be broadcast on NBA League Pass, FSN Florida, and CSN New England.
Magic (27-48, 5th Southeast)
Orlando has been long out of the playoff race in the East, but has been doing better after their four-game losing streak in the middle of March. They weren't able to get past an Oklahoma City team last time out that featured Russell Westbrook putting up 57 points in his triple-double. They forced overtime, but faded in the extra period.
The Magic did have a balanced attack in their recent loss. Small forward Terrence Ross (11 ppg) finished with a team-high 23 points. After averaging 16.6 points in the five games prior to facing the Thunder, Ross finally broke into the 20-point plateau. Shooting guard Evan Fournier (17 ppg) had a second consecutive game over 20 points, finishing with 24 points, 6 boards, and 5 assists.
Celtics (48-27, 1st Atlantic)
Boston's defense didn't do very well in their recent loss to Milwaukee, giving up 52.6 percent shooting from the field. They'll hope to patch that up in their upcoming contest. Point guard Isaiah Thomas (29.2 ppg, 5.9 apg) was pretty much the show, putting up 32 points and having his third straight game of 30 or more points.
Thomas was also the leading scorer in their previous game against the Magic with 21 points. The Celtics won that contest 128-98, firing at a 56.2 shooting percentage and owning the glass with a 47-37 rebounding advantage.
Boston is favored by a hefty 11 points and the total O/U is set at 217.5 points. However, they are 0-4 against the spread in their last four games against teams with a losing record.
