Los Angeles faces Boston, seeks 5th straight home win

Audio By Carbonatix

Boston Celtics (21-12, third in the Eastern Conference) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (11-21, 11th in the Western Conference)

Inglewood, California; Saturday, 10:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Los Angeles hosts Boston looking to continue its four-game home winning streak.

The Clippers have gone 7-8 in home games. Los Angeles ranks fifth in the Western Conference in team defense, allowing just 114.0 points while holding opponents to 47.2% shooting.

The Celtics have gone 11-7 away from home. Boston is the leader in the Eastern Conference giving up just 110.6 points per game while holding opponents to 44.9% shooting.

The Clippers average 112.1 points per game, 1.5 more points than the 110.6 the Celtics give up. The Celtics average 117.0 points per game, 3.0 more than the 114.0 the Clippers give up to opponents.

The teams square off for the second time this season. The Celtics won the last meeting 121-118 on Nov. 16, with Jaylen Brown scoring 33 points in the win.

TOP PERFORMERS: Kawhi Leonard is averaging 27.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.1 steals for the Clippers. James Harden is averaging 21.0 points over the last 10 games.

Brown is averaging 29.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and five assists for the Celtics. Sam Hauser is averaging 5.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Clippers: 5-5, averaging 111.4 points, 37.9 rebounds, 22.9 assists, 9.0 steals and 4.9 blocks per game while shooting 48.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.2 points per game.

Celtics: 7-3, averaging 116.8 points, 43.2 rebounds, 22.1 assists, 8.0 steals and 5.6 blocks per game while shooting 47.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 110.9 points.

INJURIES: Clippers: Bradley Beal: out for season (hip), Bogdan Bogdanovic: out (hamstring), Ivica Zubac: out (ankle).

Celtics: Jayson Tatum: out (achilles).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.