Sixers vs. Celtics prediction and odds for Game 5 (Boston bounces back)

The Boston Celtics should have won Game 4 against the Philadelphia 76ers, eventually losing in overtime on a clutch shot from James Harden.

Boston had chances, building a lead in the fourth quarter after trailing most of the game, but it couldn’t close out Philly, giving the Sixers their second win of the series.

Philly has two wins by a combined five points while the Celtics have won both of their games in this series by double digits.

With the series shifting back to Boston, how should we bet on Game 5?

Sixers vs. Celtics odds, spread and total

Sixers vs. Celtics prediction and pick

There has been a pretty simple recipe to success for Boston in this series:

Slow down James Harden and shoot the 3 at a high rate.

Harden scored 45 points in the Sixers’ Game 1 win, and he followed that up in Game 4 with a bounce-back game, scoring 42 points on 16-of-23 shooting.

In the two losses for Philly? Boston held Harden to just 5-for-28 shooting from the field.

If the Sixers need these monster Harden games just to compete, it’s a good sign for Boston at home in Game 5, and oddsmakers have set the Celtics as seven-point favorites.

Game 4 had several things go poorly for Boston, as Jaylen Brown got in foul trouble early when he was on a scoring tear, and he’s been the primary defender on Harden in his down games.

Plus, Jayson Tatum did not score (!!) until inside the one minute mark of the first half.

That’s not going to happen at home, and I expect Harden to regress to the mean at some point in this series.

Trust the Celtics, who are still the NBA Finals favorites, to get it done in Game 5.

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.