Tip-off: Friday, 7:35 p.m. ET
Line: Boston -4.5, Total: 209.0

The Celtics will be going for their fifth straight win when they host Russell Westbrook and the Thunder on Friday.

The Thunder are coming off of a 121-110 win as 1.5-point favorites in New Orleans on Wednesday, but Oklahoma City has been struggling a bit as of late. The Thunder have lost three of their past five games and they will be eager to earn a second straight win on Friday. This team knows the important of positioning in the playoffs, so they don’t want to dig themselves too deep a hole in the Western Conference standings. The Celtics, meanwhile, will be hoping for a lot of the same in this one. Boston is on fire right now, as the team has won-and-covered in four straight games. The Celtics have, however, had trouble with the Thunder in the past. Over the past three seasons, Oklahoma City is 4-1 SU (2-2-1 ATS) in this head-to-head series. That includes a 2-0 record both SU and ATS. While it’s important to note that Kevin Durant was a huge part of those victories, this year’s Thunder team still has a win over the Celtics. The two teams met on Dec. 11, and Oklahoma City won 99-96 as a three-point home favorite. Boston is 89-63 ATS when revenging a loss versus an opponent under head coach Brad Stevens. That includes a 30-17 ATS record in the same situation over the past two seasons. SG Victor Oladipo (Wrist) is not going to play in this game for the Thunder. The team also remains without PG Cameron Payne (Foot), who is out indefinitely.

When PG Russell Westbrook (31.3 PPG, 10.8 APG, 10.5 RPG, 1.3 SPG) faced the Celtics on Dec. 11, he finished the game with 37 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and two steals. He was absolutely dominant and he should be able to put up similar numbers on Friday night. Westbrook has far too much size for both Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley, and his strength will be big in helping him get to the basket. Also, with Oladipo out, Westbrook knows that he is going to be extra aggressive. One guy that could help him carry the scoring load is C Enes Kanter (12.6 PPG, 6.1 RPG). Kanter played 34 minutes against the Pelicans last game, finishing with 14 points, 14 boards and two blocks. Kanter is usually far too much of a defensive liability to see over 25 minutes, but he is also too good of an offensive weapon to leave on the bench when a top scorer is out. He also happens to have played well against Boston already this season, as Kanter had 14 points and seven boards the last time these teams met. SF Andre Roberson (7.2 PPG, 4.6) and C Steven Adams (11.7 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.3 SPG) meanwhile, will just need to bring the two-way energy that they do every game. Both guys are active defenders, and they can score when needed as well.

The Celtics are cruising right now, as the team comes into this one on a four-game winning streak. A huge reason for this recent success has been the play of PG Isaiah Thomas (26.6 PPG, 6.0 APG). Thomas is on a tear as of late, averaging 30.3 PPG over the course of the winning streak. He has also dished out 6.0 APG in that span. Thomas will need to keep that level of play up, especially on Friday. If he does not hold his own in his matchup with Russell Westbrook then the Celtics will have no chance of winning this one. Boston will also need SG Avery Bradley (18.0 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.1 SPG) and C Al Horford (15.7 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 5.3 APG, 2.2 BPG) to rise to the occasion in this game. Bradley will likely see a ton of time on Westbrook in this game. He is one of the best defenders in the game, and he’ll do everything he can to tire the Thunder point guard out. Bradley is also, however, a sniper from the outside these days. He is shooting 42.7% from the outside, and it’d be big if he can knock a few down on Friday. Al Horford can also help Boston out by hitting some threes. He has been slumping from the outside recently, going 1-for-16 from three over the past three contests. That type of shooting is not likely to continue for Horford, and he’ll hope that a return to Boston can help him turn it around. When he is hitting, this whole offense is different.