NBA Basketball Matchup: Celtics vs Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder have one thing standing in between them and their 11th straight home win Wednesday night–the Boston Celtics.
Date/Time: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Venue: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Broadcast: ESPN
Spread: OFF
Over/Under: OFF
However, given the current state of a depleted Celtics squad that is without Rajon Rondo and may not have star Kevin Garnett, the Thunder may catch a break as they head into the All Star break this weekend.
Boston, who has lost five in a row, have dropped six of seven and four straight by an average of 12.5 points, with Monday’s 89-73 loss in Dallas.
Sure they were without Garnett for the second straight game, and Rondo who is set to return on Thursday after serving his two-game suspension for stupidly throwing the ball at an official. But to make matters worse, the Celtics lost starters Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Wilcox in the third quarter. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Meanwhile, the Thunder also had to overcome a few injuries, but have still managed to win five of their last six including a 101-93 win over New Orleans on Monday.
At one point Oklahoma City built a 26-point lead, as Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook scored 31 points apiece.
The Thunder already own a victory at TD Garden this season, winning 97-88 on Jan. 16 behind 28 points from Durant and 26 from Westbrook to extend another Celtics skid to five.
It was the fifth straight victory in this series by the road team, but the Thunder have lost all three games in Oklahoma City against the Celtics.
The Thunder are 17-0 when they allow 95 points or fewer, and that’s bad news for Boston. The Celtics haven’t surpassed that mark in nine games, averaging 84.0 points in that stretch.
Normally, this would be a tough one to call, considering the history between these two teams and the Thunders’ inability to beat the Celts on their home hardwood. However, with so many of Boston’s star players out of the line, I can’t see them winning this one.
Free Pick: Oklahoma City
