Halftime Report
Down three at the end of the first quarter, the Celtics now have the lead. They have jumped out to a 74-66 lead against the Kings.
If the Celtics keep playing like this, they’ll bump their record up to 21-6 in no time. On the other hand, the Kings will have to make due with a 16-10 record unless they turn things around (and fast).
Who’s Playing
Boston Celtics @ Sacramento Kings
Current Records: Boston 20-6, Sacramento 16-9
How To Watch
- When: Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 10 p.m. ET
- Where: Golden 1 Center — Sacramento, California
- TV: NBATV
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $60.00
What to Know
The Boston Celtics just played last night, but they’ll still head out to face the Sacramento Kings at 10:00 p.m. ET on December 20th at Golden 1 Center. Coming off a loss in a game the Celtics were expected to win, they now face the more daunting task of proving themselves against unfavorable odds.
After a string of five wins, the Celtics’ good fortune finally ran out on Tuesday. They fell to Golden State 132-126. The defeat came about despite the Celtics having been up 17 in the third quarter.
The loss doesn’t tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Derrick White, who scored 30 points along with seven rebounds and three blocks. Jaylen Brown was another key contributor, scoring 28 points along with eight rebounds and seven assists.
Even though they lost, the Celtics were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. This was only their first loss (out of five games) when they hit their own glass that hard.
Meanwhile, the Kings scored the most points they’ve had all season to find success on Monday. They walked away with a 143-131 victory over Washington. The oddsmakers set the bar high with a 251.5-point over/under, but they still managed to beat it.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead the Kings to victory, but perhaps none more so than Domantas Sabonis, who dropped a triple-double on 28 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists. Sabonis continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he’s played. The team also got some help courtesy of De’Aaron Fox, who scored 30 points along with six assists and five rebounds.
Boston bumped their record down to 20-6 with that defeat, which was their fourth straight on the road. As for Sacramento, they are on a roll lately: they’ve won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 16-9 record this season.
Wednesday’s match is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: The Celtics haven’t given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 12.8 turnovers per game. However, it’s not like the Kings struggle in that department as they’ve been averaging only 13 turnovers per game. Given these competing strengths, it’ll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
The Celtics took their win against the Kings in their previous meeting back in March by a conclusive 132-109. Will the Celtics repeat their success, or do the Kings have a better game plan this time around? We’ll find out soon enough.
Odds
Sacramento is a 3-point favorite against Boston, according to the latest NBA odds.
The line on this game has moved quite a bit since it opened, as it started out with the Celtics as a 2.5-point favorite.
The over/under is set at 237 points.
See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Boston has won 7 out of their last 10 games against Sacramento.
- Mar 21, 2023 – Boston 132 vs. Sacramento 109
- Nov 25, 2022 – Boston 122 vs. Sacramento 104
- Mar 18, 2022 – Boston 126 vs. Sacramento 97
- Jan 25, 2022 – Boston 128 vs. Sacramento 75
- Mar 19, 2021 – Sacramento 107 vs. Boston 96
- Feb 03, 2021 – Sacramento 116 vs. Boston 111
- Nov 25, 2019 – Boston 103 vs. Sacramento 102
- Nov 17, 2019 – Sacramento 100 vs. Boston 99
- Mar 14, 2019 – Boston 126 vs. Sacramento 120
- Mar 06, 2019 – Boston 111 vs. Sacramento 109
