The 41-18 Boston Celtics start Week 20 with the second game of a homestand against the 26-33 Brooklyn Nets, live on TNT at 7:30 p.m. ET.
This is the third of four games this season between these two division rivals and currently, the Celtics and Nets are tied ag a game apiece as Boston won the first game in the TD Garden 121-110 on November 27. Then, two days later after Thanksgiving on November 29, the Nets evened the series at 1-1 as they beat the Celtics 112-107 in the Barclays Center.
While trying to maintain their 3rd spot in the East, Boston will likely be without Jayson Tatum, who is at home (on his birthday, might I add, he’s turning 22 today) recovering from an illness. The Celtics are 23-6 at home and 7-3 in their last 10 games. They are 7-5 against other Atlantic Division teams. They are looking to rebound from their tough overtime home loss to Houston in which Tatum scored a team-high 31 points.
In what was supposed to be one of the most anticipated returns to the Boston Garden, Kyrie Irving will be unable to fulfill that request to the spurned Celtics fans, as the All-Star guard underwent season-ending arthroscopic surgery on an impinged shoulder and will miss this game also. The first time these two teams met in Boston, there was speculation over whether Kyrie would play in the game but he missed that contest along with the one in Brooklyn two nights later with a shoulder injury.
This Nets team is holding down the eighth seed, and with a win will advance by a half-game to seventh in the East over Orlando. They’ll have to carry on the rest of the way to hold on to that playoff spot, and what better challenge than against the third-seed Celtics who have Kemba Walker returning to action after missing nearly a week due to knee soreness.
Both teams are playing on the first of two back-to-back games, as Boston plays Cleveland on Wednesday and Brooklyn plays as well on Wednesday against Memphis at home.
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