New Orleans Pelicans (26-54, 11th in the Western Conference) vs. Boston Celtics (54-26, second in the Eastern Conference)
Boston; Friday, 7:30 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Celtics -16.5; over/under is 224.5
BOTTOM LINE: New Orleans visits the Boston Celtics after Jeremiah Fears scored 40 points in the Pelicans’ 156-137 win over the Utah Jazz.
The Celtics have gone 28-11 in home games. Boston ranks seventh in the league with 12.6 offensive rebounds per game led by Neemias Queta averaging 3.0 offensive boards.
The Pelicans are 9-30 on the road. New Orleans has an 8-41 record against teams over .500.
The Celtics score 114.5 points per game, 5.1 fewer points than the 119.6 the Pelicans give up. The Pelicans average 11.3 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.8 fewer made shots on average than the 14.1 per game the Celtics allow.
The teams play for the second time this season. In the last matchup on Oct. 28 the Celtics won 122-90 led by 18 points from Payton Pritchard, while Jordan Poole scored 22 points for the Pelicans.
TOP PERFORMERS: Derrick White is averaging 16.6 points and 5.4 assists for the Celtics. Jayson Tatum is averaging 21.1 points, 10 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.5 steals over the last 10 games.
Saddiq Bey is averaging 17.7 points and 5.6 rebounds for the Pelicans. Fears is averaging 17.9 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Celtics: 7-3, averaging 115.0 points, 46.2 rebounds, 24.6 assists, 5.8 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 48.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.9 points per game.
Pelicans: 2-8, averaging 112.6 points, 41.0 rebounds, 24.9 assists, 9.2 steals and 5.7 blocks per game while shooting 46.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 119.7 points.
INJURIES: Celtics: Jaylen Brown: out (achilles).
Pelicans: Trey Murphy III: out (ankle), Zion Williamson: out (knee), Yves Missi: out (hand), Karlo Matkovic: day to day (back), Herbert Jones: day to day (rest), Saddiq Bey: day to day (rest), Dejounte Murray: out (hand), Bryce McGowens: out (toe).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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