76ers at Celtics
Following a successful road trip, the Boston Celtics will put a pair of winning streaks on the line when they host the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday. The Celtics, who have won three straight overall and nine in a row over the 76ers, capped a 3-1 road trip with a 111-98 win at Dallas on Monday.
Isaiah Thomas stayed hot with 28 points and eight assists for Boston, which averaged 114.3 points in the three straight victories. "We would love to go 4-0 (on the trip), but things happened," guard Marcus Smart told reporters after a 19-point effort. "But we bounced back. That's what good teams do. We're becoming a very, very great team." The Celtics entered Tuesday's action two games behind first-place Cleveland in the Eastern Conference, and the Cavaliers travel to Boston twice after the All-Star break. Philadelphia has also won three straight after a 105-99 triumph at Charlotte on Monday and is seeking its first four-game winning streak in over three years.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSN Philly (Philadelphia), CSN New England (Boston)
ABOUT THE 76ERS (21-34): Dario Saric continued his solid play with 18 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Charlotte to notch his fifth double-double. The rookie from Croatia is averaging 20.8 points and 6.5 boards in 26.5 minutes over his last four games, helping to fill the void with star big man Joel Embiid still sidelined with a knee injury. It is probable that Embiid will sit another one out and then continue to work his way back over the All-Star break, which would likely give another start to Nerlens Noel, who has produced 31 points and seven steals while starting the last two games.
ABOUT THE CELTICS (36-19): Like Embiid, guard Avery Bradley (Achilles) is expected to sit things out until after the All-Star break after missing the last 14 games, and rookie Jaylen Brown (hip) is in the same boat. Veteran reserve Gerald Green has taken advantage of the opportunity by scoring in double figures in three straight contests after reaching the 10-point mark just three times in his first 31 games. Thomas is averaging 30.5 points while hitting 57.1 percent of his 3-pointers in two games against the Sixers this season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Thomas has scored at least 20 points in 39 straight games, one shy of matching Hall of Famer John Havlicek's franchise record.
2. Sixers PG T.J. McConnell has 30 assists and three turnovers over the past four contests.
3. Boston's two wins over Philadelphia this season have come by a total of five points.