The Portland Trail Blazers (18-26) are on the road for a fifth straight game Friday when they visit the Boston Celtics (23-23). Tip-off from TD Garden will be 7:30 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Trail Blazers vs. Celtics odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
The Blazers fell to the Miami Heat 104-92 Wednesday as they were again without G Damian Lillard. Fill-in G Anfernee Simons poured in 27 points and 7 assists, but it wasn’t enough to lift Portland to a win as its two-game win streak was snapped.
Fortunately for the Trail Blazers G CJ McCollum played his second game after missing the prior six weeks and scored 24 points in 33 minutes in the defeat.
The Celtics were 3-point favorites over the Charlotte Hornets Wednesday but lost 111-102 at home. The loss also snapped Boston’s two-game win streak after it had picked up wins over the New Orleans Pelicans and Chicago Bulls.
The Celtics are still 5-2 in their last seven games and have pulled to .500 for the season, but their 3-point shooting (33.8%) has been spotty all year.
Trail Blazers at Celtics odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:55 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Trail Blazers +270 (bet $100 to win $270) | Celtics -360 (bet $360 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Trail Blazers +7.5 (-102) | Celtics -7.5 (-122)
- Over/Under (O/U): 211.5 (O: -115 | U: -107)
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Trail Blazers at Celtics key injuries
Trail Blazers
- G Damian Lillard (core muscle) out
- F Larry Nance Jr. (knee) out
- G Dennis Smith Jr. (ankle) probable
- F Norman Powell (personal) out
- F Nassir Little (knee) questionable
Celtics
- SF Aaron Nesmith (ankle) questionable
- PG Marcus Smart (conditioning) questionable
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Trail Blazers at Celtics odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Celtics 111, Trail Blazers 106
Money line
The Celtics are hard to back right now after losing three of the last seven games they’ve been favorites. The money line doesn’t offer much value at -360, even with Boston being at home against a team that’s been on the road for the last four games.
PASS on the money line.
Against the spread
The Celtics are just 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games and have covered the spread as the favorite just twice in their last eight outings. With Smart’s status in question and McCollum rounding into form for Portland, the Blazers have a good shot to cover the 7.5-point spread in this one.
Take the BLAZERS -7.5 (-102) to keep this one close enough and cover the spread down the stretch after going 5-5 ATS in their last 10 games.
Over/Under
Slight lean toward the OVER 211.5 (-115).
The Over is 5-0 the last five teams these teams have met. This bet will rely heavily on how Boston shoots from 3-point range because if the Celtics are cold again (14-for-46 Wednesday), it could be tough for this total to climb Over.
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