Sixers vs Celtics: Betting info and game preview for game 2

The Sixers shocked the world on Monday night with a stunning win over the Boston Celtics. Their ability to pull this off without the services of Joel Embiid was beyond impressive, but can they double down on their success?

Sixers vs Celtics Game 2 info

Who: Sixers vs Celtics
When: 8:10PM Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023
Where: TD Garden, Boston
How to watch: TNT

Sixers vs Celtics Betting odds

Sixers vs Celtics betting preview

In a game where the Sixers desperately needed someone to step up, James Harden answered the call. Not only did his clutch 3-pointer seal a stunning upset for the Sixers, but he ended with a career-high 45 points in postseason play. 15 of those points came in the 4th quarter alone. We haven’t seen a lot from Harden as a scorer since his role as a facilitator became a primary focus, but this sort of outing against a team as dominant as the Celtics was a statement and then some. His points total for game 2 sits at 23.5 for those bullish on another hot day of shooting from ‘The Beard’.

In addition to James Harden’s ability to roll back the clock, Tyrese Maxey overcame his previous Celtics-related setbacks to put up 26 points and a +12 rating. Maxey’s points total also sits at 23.5 for game 2, although he has previously struggled against Boston, averaging 10 points per matchup. Betting the under could be a safe play here, although not one Sixers fans will like making.

From a Celtics perspective, they started out red-hot. There was little the Sixers could do to stop the onslaught and that is concerning if the floodgates open once more. Philly was able to stay in this matchup on the back of dominant three-point shooting, going 17-38 from beyond the 3-point line. They averaged 38.7% ont he season, so a slight regression might just play back into Boston’s favor, although we can expect the tempo to be very similar.

Sixers vs Celtics betting prediction

We successfully backed both the Sixers +10 and TOTAL in game 1. This one could be a little trickier to read, with an inflated total of 218 thanks to Philly’s resilient offensive performance. I do think that there is still some value on Philly +10 and the UNDER given Boston’s desire to bounce back, and Philly’s intent to protect an unexpected lead by tightening up on defense after a leaky first quarter.