76ers at Celtics 12/25/18 - NBA Picks & Predictions

Atlantic Division rivals will square off on Christmas Day when the Philadelphia 76ers travel to TD Garden to face the Boston Celtics.

The 76ers have lost nine of their 15 road games and are ten games above .500 overall. On Saturday, Philadelphia took advantage of a short-handed Toronto squad to earn a 126-101 home victory. The 76ers out rebounded the Raptors by a 61-47 margin and shot 54 percent from the field.

Philadelphia C Joel Embiid led all scorers with 27 points on 10-for-15 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds. Ben Simmons contributed 26 points to go along with 12 rebounds and eight assists. The Boston Celtics were picked to be the favorite in the Eastern Conference, but have yet to live up to that praise. The Celtics are currently six games above .500 overall and in fifth place in the conference standings. On Sunday, Boston built an 18-point halftime lead and cruised to a 119-103 home victory versus Charlotte. The Celtics won the battle on the boards by ten and shot 50 percent from the floor.

Boston G Kyrie Irving tallied a game high 25 points on a 9-for-12 shooting performance. Jayson Tatum chipped in 17 points and four rebounds for the Celtics.