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The City of Boston will host an NBA Finals game for the first time in 12 years on Wednesday night as the Celtics face the Golden State Warriors in Game 3. The C’s are favored on the NBA odds to take a 2-1 series lead.
How to Bet Warriors at Celtics NBA Odds & TV Info
- When: Wednesday, 9 PM ET
- Where: TD Garden
- TV: ABC
- Stream: ESPN app
- Radio: ESPN radio
- NBA Odds: Celtics -3.5 (total 212.5)
Why Bet on Golden State?
The Warriors blew open Game 2 in the third quarter on the way to a 107-88 victory in Game 2 to even the series. Golden State outscored the Celtics, 35-14, in the third quarter for a 23-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Golden State closed out the third quarter on a 19-2 run capped off by a 39-foot 3-pointer by Jordan Poole and never looked back. The Warriors have outscored the Celtics, 73-38, in the third quarter in the two games.
Poole finished with 17 points and drained five 3-pointers. He became the youngest in Finals history to make that many 3-pointers in a game. Poole’s 39-foot attempt with 1.5 seconds left in the third quarter was the third-farthest shot made in the regular season or playoffs he’s made in his career (52 ft on 5/10/21 vs. Utah and 47 ft on 11/24/21 vs. Philadelphia).
Poole also has made 24 straight free throws in the 2022 NBA Playoffs, the seventh-longest streak in a single postseason in Warriors franchise history. Stephen Curry holds the franchise record for the most consecutive without a miss in a single postseason, 43, in the 2019 NBA Playoffs. Curry finished with 29 points, six rebounds and four assists. He’s averaging 26.8 points, 6.1 assists and 5.7 rebounds in his NBA Finals career.
Kevon Looney had 12 points 6-for-6 shooting with seven rebounds over 21 minutes in the win. Looney hounded Boston defensively and co-led the Warriors with a booming plus-24 in the box score. The Dubs are 5-0 following a loss in this year’s playoffs, outscoring their opponents by an average of 15.4 in those games. The points per game difference ranks as the fifth-highest in the last 50 seasons.
The Warriors have 26 consecutive playoff series in which they have won at least one road game, an NBA record streak that began with a road victory in Denver in the 2013 NBA Playoffs Western Conference First Round. Draymond Green (26), Klay Thompson (26) and Curry (25) are the only players to win at least one road game in every playoff series they’ve played in (minimum 20). Curry missed the 2018 First Round series vs. San Antonio.
The Warriors have a 37-32 record in Game 3s in the playoffs, including 14-9 since 2015. Golden State has won its last three Game 3s. In the NBA Finals, the Warriors have a 7-4 all-time record (2-3 since 2015).
Andre Iguodala (right knee inflammation) is considered questionable for Game 3 on Wednesday. Iguodala played 12 minutes in Game 1, finishing with seven points and three rebounds. He ended up missing Game 2 with knee soreness.
Why Bet on Boston?
The Celtics lost Game 2 because they shot just 4-for-17 in the third quarter on Sunday and committed five turnovers that became 11 Warriors points. Golden State, meanwhile, went 7-for-12 from 3-point range, as Stephen Curry matched Boston’s point total by himself. The Celtics have been outscored by at least 14 points four times in the third quarter in these playoffs — all of which have come on the road. Three of those games have been Boston’s three road losses in these playoffs.
“Yeah, it’s definitely frustrating,” Celtics guard Derrick White said. “I mean, we’ve talked about it pretty much the whole postseason. It’s easy to talk about, but we’ve got to go out there and change something.”
Jayson Tatum had a fine night offensively, scoring 28 points while making 6-of-9 3-pointers. But he didn’t have much help. After scoring 26 in Game 1, Al Horford only had two points in Game 2. Marcus Smart scored just two points, too, and had five turnovers. After his 13-point first quarter, Jaylen Brown was just 1-of-11 from the field for the rest of the game. Tatum was a career-worst minus-36 overall. It was also the worst individual game number in NBA Finals history.
The Celtics should still feel decent about a 1-1 split out west and stealing a game on a court where the Warriors had been undefeated this postseason, but it only matters if they take care of business at TD Garden. Boston is an improbably bad 3-4 at home over the last two rounds.
Center Robert Williams (left knee soreness) is questionable to play in Game 3. Williams was cleared to play in Game 2, but he only ended up playing 14 minutes. He went down after Smart fell into his knee, and he tried to play through it. He ended up not seeing much time the rest of the game, though Coach Ime Udoka said that he is just fine. If he can’t play, Grant Williams will likely slide back into the starting unit.
Game Trends
- Warriors are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
- Warriors are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 road games.
- Warriors are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
- Celtics are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
- Celtics are 16-5 ATS in their last 21 games following a ATS loss.
- Celtics are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 Wednesday games.
- Warriors are 1-3-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Boston.
Expert Prediction
- Celtics 109, Warriors 106