Both teams come in with identical records; 48 wins and 34 losses. They both have gone 6-4 over their past 10 games, and their home and away records are nearly identical. The Atlanta Hawks come into the game on a two game losing streak after a surprising loss to the Washington Wizards kept the Celtics from the fourth seed in the East.
The Boston Celtics came back from a 26-point deficit to shock the Miami Heat and ended up winning 98-88. However, Boston is still less than a week removed from an embarrassing loss to the Atlanta Hawks.