Boston @ Chicago
Current Records: Boston 35-31; Chicago 27-39
The Boston Celtics are staying on the road Friday to face off against the Chicago Bulls at 7:30 p.m. ET May 7 at United Center. These two teams are strolling into their matchup after big wins in their previous games.
You're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter, and that's exactly how it played out for the Celtics on Wednesday. They really took it to the Orlando Magic for a full four quarters, racking up a 132-96 victory on the road. The game was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point Boston had established a 100-75 advantage. Boston's point guard Kemba Walker was one of the most active players for the team, shooting 6-for-9 from beyond the arc and finishing with 32 points.
Meanwhile, Chicago took their contest against the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday by a conclusive 120-99 score. The game was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point Chicago had established a 96-74 advantage. Their center Nikola Vucevic did his thing and shot 5-for-7 from downtown and finished with a double-double on 29 points and 14 rebounds. That makes it six consecutive games in which Vucevic has had at least 11 rebounds.
Barring any buzzer beaters, Boston is expected to win a tight contest. They covered a 12.5-point spread on Wednesday, so bettors might be thinking that will translate to further success against a lower spread.
Their wins bumped Boston to 35-31 and the Bulls to 27-39. Both the Celtics and Chicago have easy wins in recent memory. We'll see which one's ego takes a hit when they face off.
The Celtics are a slight 2.5-point favorite against the Bulls, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Celtics as a 3-point favorite.
Over/Under: -111
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Boston have won 16 out of their last 24 games against Chicago.
