Monday, May 21st, 2012
The Boston Celtics will play the back end of a back to back when they battle the Atlanta Hawks in an NBA pro basketball game on Friday night.
Tip off time from Atlanta is scheduled for 8PM Eastern Time with national television coverage provided by ESPN.
The betting odds opened up in this NBA game at a pick with an over under of 192 points.
Early money has shown in this NBA contest on the side of the road team as the Boston Celtics are now favored by -1 point.
The over under has moved down to 178 ½ points.
Those betting the favored Boston Celtics on the money line will lay –115 odds with the underdog Atlanta Hawks brining back -105 odds to earn the straight up win without the aid of getting the points.
It will be the third meeting of the season between these Eastern conference squads. Boston has won both games.
On November 22nd it was the Boston Celtics with the 99-76 road win at Atlanta as a +3 points underdog. The game played under 192 ½ points.
Boston stormed out to the 39-13 first quarter lead and coasted home.
The Celtics hit on 53.3% of their shots and connected on 5 of 11 from three. They crushed the Hawks on the glass by a 50-30 margin.
Atlanta made just 34.6% of theirs shots in the bad loss. Their highest point producer for the game was Mike Bibby who scored 11 points.
The rematch took place on December 16th and it was the Celtics with the 102-90 home win against the Hawks as a -7 point favorite. The game went over the total of 186 points.
Boston shot very well in the win hitting on 53% from the field. Six Celtics were in double digits with Glen Davis and Ray Allen leading the way with 18 points apiece.
Atlanta wasted a 50% shooting performance in the loss. The team pulled down four more rebounds but was sloppy with the basketball with 18 turnovers.
The Celtics visit Atlanta with an overall record of 52-22. The club is 23-14 on the road this season.
Boston currently occupies the second seed in the Eastern conference and just two games in the loss column behind the first place Chicago Bulls with 8 games left on the schedule.
The team bounced back well from their road loss to Indiana on Monday night with a 107-97 road win at San Antonio last night as a +1 ½ point underdog. The game landed well over 185 ½ points.
The Celtics were hot hitting on 54.8% from the floor and made 13 of their 16 free throws. The team held the Spurs to just 43.3% shooting and 8 of 29 from the three point line.
Point guard Rajon Rondo led Boston with 22 points on 11 of 20 shooting and 14 big assists. Paul Pierce contributed with 21 points and 11 boards with Kevin Garnett putting in 20 points.
Atlanta will host the Celtics with a record of 43-32. The club is 23-15 at home.
The Hawks sit in the fifth seed in the Eastern conference and four games in the loss column behind the fourth place Orlando Magic with just 7 games left to play.
The team has won three straight and coming off the 85-82 home win against Orlando on Wednesday night as the +3 ½ point underdog.
The Hawks hit on 47.1% of their shots in their win and 6 of 15 from beyond the arc. Atlanta pulled down 42 rebounds to the Magic 37.
They held Orlando to 41.6% shooting and 7 of 23 from three in victory.
Josh Smith led Atlanta with 26 points and six boards with 10 of 18 shooting from the field. Guard Joe Johnson had 18 points on 7 of 15 from the field with 6 rebounds.
Trend: Boston Celtics are 10-2 to the under in their past 12 games.
For the Latest NBA Odds Please Visit our NBA Odds Page
Tags: april 1st 2011, atlanta hawks, betting, boston celtics, espn tv, friday, nba, Odds, pick, preview, pro basketball
