NBA
The Celtics were 13-point favorites at home last night to the Hawks, it was the first time since 1990 that they lost a playoff game as a double-digit favorite
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated26 Apr 2023
Last night, the Boston Celtics has a tremendous opportunity to close out their series vs the Hawks at home. Atlanta stood tough last night and Trae Young put on another masterful performance to keep their season alive. He nailed a deep three to put the Hawks up one and left just under two seconds on the clock. Boston was favored by 13 points heading into Game 5 last night.
This was the first time since 1990 that the Celtics were a double-digit favorite in a playoff game and lost. They were previously 7-0 when favored by double-digits in the postseason. Trae Young had something else to say about that and the Celtics offense went cold in the biggest moments of the game.
The Hawks are back at home for Game 6 and the Celtics want to end the series now. NBA betting sites have the Celtics at (-250) to win Game 6 on the road.
The Celtics lost to the Hawks as 13 point favorites tonight.
Since 1990, the Celtics had never lost a playoff game being a double-digit favorite (7-0 entering tonight).
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 26, 2023
Trae Young took over late in the fourth quarter to steal Game 5 on the road vs Boston
Atlanta’s all-star PG was doing it all last night in a game the team had to win to keep their season alive. The Hawks were without Dejounte Murray who was suspended last night and Young had to shoulder the offensive load. He finished with 38 points and 13 assists in a team-high 44 minutes played.
The league has a certain start that is called “clutch points”. These are scored in the last five minutes of a game when a team is ahead or behind by less than five points. Last night, Young had 11 clutch points in Game 5. Boston as a team only scored six clutch points. Being able to close out a game is a big deal in the playoffs and the Celtics were not able to get that done.
Trae Young scored all 11 Hawks points in clutch time in Game 5 🔥 pic.twitter.com/i6aAEoD7VP
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 26, 2023
On top of Young’s dominance, the Celtics had an off-shooting night from deep. They shot just (.316) percent from beyond the arc. Jayson Tatum went 1-10 from deep last and finished the game with just 19 points. Boston has a chance to close out the series on Thursday night in Game 6.
