Sunday was a good day for the Clippers. They learned their All-Star power forward has been cleared to return and clinched a playoff berth with a win over Denver. We’ll see how Monday rates for them, but it shouldn’t be bad. Playing a back-to-back series at home for the third time, the Clips are unbeaten in the previous five games.
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Boston Celtics +3
Los Angeles Clippers -3
Over/Under: 208.5
SCHEDULING
The Celtics will try to match their longest winning streak of the season when they continue a lengthy road trip at the Clippers. Boston opened the five-game trek with a 102-99 win at Phoenix on Friday night, their fourth straight overall. The Celtics have also won consecutive road games for the first time since early February to even their record at 18-18 away from the TD Garden. A twist in the schedule has the Celtics travelling to Portland and Golden State before returning to Los Angeles for a matchup with the Lakers on April 3 to conclude the trip.
The Clippers are faced with a scheduling oddity but at least this one will be easy to handle after a pleasant Easter Sunday for the club. Power forward Blake Griffin was given the green light and is expected to make his return to the lineup on Sunday. They got some revenge on the Nuggets, defeating them 105-90 to clinch their fifth consecutive playoff berth in the process. Now the Clips battle the Celtics in the second of a home back-to-back. The Clips have played two home back-to-backs this season sweeping both times and are 8-1 SU and 5-4 ATS in the second of their past nine back-to-back situations.
INJURIES
Celtics forward Jae Crowder remains sidelined with a high ankle sprain and has been ruled out for Monday’s game. He is making progress and is considered day-to-day beyond that.
The light at the end of the tunnel got brighter for the Clippers with Sunday’s announcement that Griffin has been medically cleared to resume basketball activities. Griffin began serving his four-game, team-imposed suspension Sunday and can return on April 3.
KEY MATCHUP
The Celtics continue to rely on diminutive point guard Isaiah Thomas – maybe a bit too much. Thomas scored 27 points in Saturday’s win at Phoenix and was the team’s outright scoring leader for the 12th consecutive game – no minor accomplishment considering the balanced nature of the Celtics. Thomas is playing the best basketball of his career. For the month of March, he ranks sixth in the league averaging 26.2 points while shooting 47.1 percent from the field, which is second to Kevin Durant’s 51.1 percent among those top six. And he’s essentially putting up the same sort of numbers as Stephen Curry this month. Curry is averaging 1.4 points per game higher, but doing it less efficiently. Thomas has scored at least 20 points in all 12 games this month and was unstoppable when facing the Clippers at the Garden in February, going for 36 points and 11 assists in an overtime win.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
The Clippers had a jump in their step Sunday after learning that Griffin was medically cleared and is eligible to return to the lineup on April 3 after serving his four-game suspension. Consecutive wins also has the Clips feeling a bit better after a 2-6 slump had them close to losing the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. LA appears to be locked into that spot but needs to start clicking as the season winds down.
The meaty portion of Boston’s five-game roadie gets underway in Los Angeles and has the Celtics playing in Portland and Golden State before it’s over. The C’s collected their fourth straight win and second in a row on the road Saturday in Phoenix, raising their away record to just 18-18. The team’s played one of the more entertaining games of the year on Feb. 10 with Boston getting the 139-134 overtime victory with the help of Thomas’ 36 points. Boston has been overly reliant on its guard for offense with Crowder still out and that hurts them in this one.
Los Angeles 109, Boston 104
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