Saturday May 26th NBA Playoffs Live Odds: Philadelphia vs Boston Game 7

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Frank Martin

A berth in the Eastern Conference finals is on the line when the Boston Celtics host the Philadelphia 76ers in Saturday’s seventh and deciding game of the second-round series.

The two long-time rivals are meeting in a Game 7 for the first time since 1982 when the 76ers prevailed in Boston in the Eastern Conference finals.

The odds favor the Celtics, with the home team having won 79.6 percent of the 108 Game 7s in NBA history.

- Philadelphia 76ers @ Boston Celtics
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, May 26, 2012
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ABC

The Celtics have opened as 5-point favorites on SBG Global Sportsbook’s Live NBA Basketball Odds.

Philadelphia 76ers : Philadelphia forced a seventh game with a gutty 82-75 home victory on Wednesday. Point guard Jrue Holiday had his highest-scoring game of the series with 20 points and forward Elton Brand had 13 points and 10 rebounds for his second consecutive solid outing. Brand scored 19 points in Game 5. Sixers reserves Lou Williams (10.8 average) and Thaddeus Young (8.5) have had a minimal effect in the series. Coach Doug Collins is happy Philadelphia’s season has a chance to continue, but isn’t satisfied. “I want more,” Collins said. “We’re going to get greedy and we want more. We’ve fought, we’ve worked, and we’ve gone through a lot as a team.”

Boston Celtics : Veteran post Kevin Garnett has been Boston’s best player in the series and the Celtics are hoping he’ll be fresh after playing 40-plus minutes in two of the past three games. Garnett is averaging 20 points and 10.7 rebounds per game and coach Doc Rivers is mindful that he needs Garnett to be strong in the final minutes. “We know he has to get rest,” Rivers said. “To have to take him out in the fourth quarter is hard, but we have no choice. He’s doing everything for us. But at the end of the day, he can’t play 48 minutes.” Point guard Rajon Rondo had a subpar Game 6 with six assists and four turnovers after averaging 14.6 assists over the first five games.

1. Celtics guard Avery Bradley (shoulder) has been shut down for the playoffs and veteran Ray Allen moves back into the starting lineup.

2. Philadelphia’s most-recent Game 7 was in 2001 when Allen Iverson scored 44 points against the Milwaukee Bucks to move the 76ers into the NBA Finals.

3. Boston forward Paul Pierce has averaged 22 points over the last four games after scoring just 21 total points in the first two contests.

NBA BASKETBALL PREDICTION: Celtics 91, 76ers 83

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allen iverson - avery bradley - boston celtics - doc rivers - doug collins - elton brand - jrue holiday - kevin garnett - lou williams - paul pierce