Boston Celtics (34-26, sixth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Brooklyn Nets (31-28, eighth in the Eastern Conference)
New York; Thursday, 7:30 p.m. EST
LINE: Nets -5
BOTTOM LINE: Boston visits Brooklyn trying to continue its five-game road winning streak.
The Nets are 7-2 against the rest of their division. Brooklyn is fifth in the Eastern Conference scoring 110.8 points while shooting 46.7% from the field.
The Celtics are 7-6 in division matchups. Boston averages 108.9 points while outscoring opponents by 5.4 points per game.
The teams play for the third time this season. The Celtics won the last matchup 126-91 on Feb. 9. Marcus Smart scored 22 points to help lead the Celtics to the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Patty Mills is averaging 13.4 points for the Nets. Kyrie Irving is averaging 2.8 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Brooklyn.
Jayson Tatum is shooting 32.9% from beyond the arc with 2.8 made 3-pointers per game for the Celtics, while averaging 25.7 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Jaylen Brown is averaging 22.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists over the past 10 games for Boston.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nets: 2-8, averaging 105.5 points, 41.6 rebounds, 21.8 assists, 7.4 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 44.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.4 points per game.
Celtics: 9-1, averaging 114.5 points, 48.0 rebounds, 27.2 assists, 7.1 steals and 7.1 blocks per game while shooting 49.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 95.9 points.
INJURIES: Nets: Ben Simmons: out (back), Joe Harris: out (ankle), Kevin Durant: out (knee), Kyrie Irving: out (ineligible to play), James Johnson: day to day (wrist).
Celtics: Marcus Smart: day to day (ankle), Robert Williams III: day to day (calf).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.