Boston Celtics (51-19, second in the Eastern Conference) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (32-39, 12th in the Western Conference)
Portland, Oregon; Sunday, 6 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Portland heads into a matchup with Boston as winners of four games in a row.
The Trail Blazers are 20-16 in home games. Portland ranks third in the league with 13.0 offensive rebounds per game led by Deandre Ayton averaging 3.1 offensive boards.
The Celtics are 27-7 in road games. Boston ranks ninth in the Eastern Conference with 25.7 assists per game led by Jayson Tatum averaging 5.9.
The Trail Blazers are shooting 45.2% from the field this season, 0.1 percentage points lower than the 45.3% the Celtics allow to opponents. The Celtics average 17.7 made 3-pointers per game this season, 4.9 more made shots on average than the 12.8 per game the Trail Blazers give up.
TOP PERFORMERS: Deni Avdija is scoring 15.9 points per game with 6.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the Trail Blazers. Shaedon Sharpe is averaging 17.9 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 45.8% over the last 10 games.
Jaylen Brown is scoring 22.8 points per game and averaging 6.1 rebounds for the Celtics. Payton Pritchard is averaging 3.7 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Trail Blazers: 5-5, averaging 113.1 points, 49.3 rebounds, 22.9 assists, 7.8 steals and 5.0 blocks per game while shooting 44.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 110.7 points per game.
Celtics: 9-1, averaging 114.1 points, 44.9 rebounds, 25.7 assists, 8.1 steals and 5.5 blocks per game while shooting 46.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 105.2 points.
INJURIES: Trail Blazers: Anfernee Simons: out (illness), Deandre Ayton: out (calf), Jabari Walker: out (concussion), Robert Williams III: out (knee), Donovan Clingan: out (illness), Jerami Grant: out (knee).
Celtics: Jaylen Brown: day to day (knee), Xavier Tillman Sr.: day to day (knee).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
