The Philadelphia 76ers hold a shocking 3-2 series lead over the once heavily favored Boston Celtics and can eliminate the C’s in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals from the City of Brotherly Love on Thursday. The Celtics are short favorites on the NBA odds.

76ers vs. Celtics, Game 6 | 2023 NBA Expert Analysis

How to Bet Boston at Philadelphia NBA Odds & TV Info

When: Thursday, 7:30 PM ET
Where: Wells Fargo Center
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: Tunein.com
NBA Odds: Celtics -2 (total 212.5)

Why Bet on Boston?

With a chance to take a 3-2 lead at home, Boston simply chose the wrong night to play terribly as it lost 115-103 on Tuesday as an 8-point favorite. The Celtics played their brand of basketball, which seemed to hurt them in the long run as a lack of early adjustments allowed Joel Embiid and company to build on their lead and never look back.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said he felt his team missed 10 “wide open” 3-pointers in the first half. Boston finished the game 12-of-38 (32%) on 3-pointers but was just 9-of-33 before pulling its starters. The Celtics are 34-2 this season when they make more than 40% of their 3-pointers, a remarkable statistic. In Game 5, when they needed it most, they were 9-of-33 from beyond the arc (27%) before a couple in garbage time boosted it to 32% for the night. When they shoot below that magic 40% number, they are 29-28.

Jayson Tatum had 36 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Tatum led all players in scoring despite his 11-for-27 shooting woes. Tatum hasn’t been at his best against the Sixers, as he has failed to reach the 25-point mark in two of the five games thus far. Tatum missed 14 straight shots in the first quarter Tuesday, tied for the longest streak of his playoff career. His overall postseason numbers have declined slightly from the regular season, as he’s averaging 26.9 points per game in the playoffs compared to 30.1 per contest during the season.

Jaylen Brown had 24 points and six rebounds. Brown has been a model of consistency for the Celtics during their current playoff run, putting up at least 20 points in eight straight appearances. He’s averaging 25.3 points per game in the postseason. The Celtics are now 37-8 (.822) in the regular season when Tatum & Brown combine for 60 points but 5-4 (.555) when the duo combines for 60 or more in the playoffs.

Al Horford, coming off two tremendous games, had one of his worst playoff performances as a Celtic. The 36-year-old shot 0-for-7 from three-point range in the first half, which is tied for the most attempts without a make in a half in Celtics postseason history. He finished with zero points on 0-for-7 shooting from the field. All of his attempts came from three.

This is the same spot Boston was in last year in the East semis as it lost at home to Milwaukee to fall down 3-2 but then won Game 6 on the road and then Game 7 back at home. Over the last two postseasons, the Celtics are 6-1 after home losses and 3-1 when those games are on the road, including a win to close out the Hawks in Atlanta in this year’s first round.

Bet Boston to Win Today
MyBookie Betting Lines for the Game

Why Bet on Philadelphia?

The 76ers’ win in Game 5 represented the franchise’s first playoff victory to come on the road in a 2-2 series. They had been 0-3 against the Celtics in three previous attempts. Joel Embiid finished Tuesday’s 115-103 win over Boston with 33 points, seven rebounds, three assists and four blocks. Embiid has 3 straight 30-point games, tied for his longest streak within a postseason in his career. The only longer such streaks with the Sixers: were Allen Iverson with five in a row in 2001 and Wilt Chamberlain with four straight in 1965.

Tyrese Maxey blew up for 30 points and seven rebounds in 42 minutes. It was an excellent bounce-back effort for Maxey, as he had failed to reach the 15-point plateau in the previous three games of the series. He’s averaged 20.3 points per game through nine postseason contests thus far. Philadelphia consistently created clean looks on offense while limiting Boston to 39.8% shooting on the other end of the floor.

“Ball movement,” Coach Doc Rivers said, when asked what got Maxey going. “The ball went side to side. You think about it, he had three or four just point-blank 3s because of their rotations.”

Instead of the lead ebbing and flowing like it did in Game 4, Philadelphia quickly pushed the lead into double digits to start the third quarter, and Boston never got closer than 11 in the fourth quarter. Perhaps the scariest part of the Celtics’ loss was that for the first time this series, Philadelphia won without a colossal scoring output from James Harden. He scored 45 in Game 1, and 42 in Game 4, hitting clutch shots in both games that buried the Celtics when it mattered most. Harden only took eight shot attempts from the field, but he added an efficient 17 points. He also dished out 10 assists.

The wildcard was Danuel House, who scored 10 points off the bench on 5-7 shooting in 15 minutes. Rivers said he wasn’t sure if he was going to play House at all before the game.

Bet 76ers to Win Today
MyBookie Betting Lines for the Game

Game Trends

• Celtics are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 road games.
• Celtics are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up loss.
• 76ers are 3-9-1 ATS in their last 13 Thursday games.
• Celtics are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Philadelphia.
• Over is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.

Expert Prediction

Celtics 116, Sixers 113

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