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The Atlanta Hawks remain in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference Playoff race and will wrap up a four game road trip Friday night in Boston against the Celtics. Atlanta clinched a spot in the playoffs for the sixth straight season on Wednesday with a 107-88 win in Toronto. They are now playing for positioning as they are currently in sixth place but just percentage points behind the Chicago Bulls.
Boston is in seventh place, 2.5 games back of Atlanta and has been reeling of late. The Celtics snapped a losing streak with a 93-92 win over Cleveland on Wednesday. They are banged up with Rajon Rondo out for the season and Kevin Garnett now battling an ankle issue that has caused him to miss five of the last seven games.
Jeff Green has done his best to take up some of the slack in Garnett's absence and scored the game winning basket against the Cavaliers on Wednesday. Losing Garnett is a big loss but as the Hawks know all to well, the Celtics always seem to be much more dangerous when they are facing increased adversity.
The Hawks have injury issues of their own as they prepare to face Boston. Zaza Pachulia will not play on Friday night as he continues to battle an Achilles injury. Devin Harris is listed as questionable but has missed the last two games with a foot injury. His status will likely be updated prior to the game.
Boston has a 2-1 edge in the season series that has featured two overtime games. Atlanta blew a big lead in the first matchup and fell at home 89-81. They returned the favor on January 25 when they overcame a 27 point deficit to win 123-111 in double overtime. Earlier this month Atlanta overcame a late 12 point deficit but fell in overtime 107-102. The Hawks have lost six straight road games in the series.
Game Date/Time: Friday, March 29, 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
TV: SportSouth
Radio: 680 The Fan, 93.7 FM
Online Streaming: NBA League Pass Broadband
Odds: Atlanta is a two point underdog on the road in Boston