NBA Betting Preview: Boston Celtics vs. Golden State Warriors Odds, Analysis

With five of their last seven games at home as they attempt to pass the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls for the best regular-season record of all time, the Golden State Warriors (68-7) are considered strong favorites to accomplish the feat.

The Warriors have yet to lose at home this season, with a 36-0 mark at Oracle Arena, and they have won 54 in a row there dating back to last year going into Friday’s matchup with the Boston Celtics (43-32).

Golden State is a 12-point betting favorite at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.

The Warriors nearly suffered their first loss of the season against the Celtics on December 11 but pulled off a 124-119 victory in double overtime to improve to 24-0. They lost their next game the following night at the Milwaukee Bucks in the finale of a seven-game road trip and have struggled to cover versus Boston despite a five-game winning streak in the series.

Golden State is just 1-4-1 against the spread in the past six meetings with the Celtics, with only one of the wins decided by more than five points.

Boston is coming off a tough 116-109 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers as 2.5-point underdogs Thursday in the third game of a five-game road trip. The Celtics led the Blazers 83-81 heading into the fourth quarter but fell apart in the fourth, trailing by as many as 13 points before closing the gap in the final minutes.

They are 11-6 straight up and 9-7-1 against the spread the 17 times they have played the second game of a back-to-back situation this season, according to the Odds Shark NBA Database.

The Warriors needed overtime to knock off the Utah Jazz 103-96 on Wednesday. They managed to cover as 4.5-point road favorites after going 1-5 against the spread in their previous six games.

As a double-digit home favorite this year, Golden State is 27-0 straight up and 13-14 against the spread. But the team is just 6-11 against the spread in its last 17 under that scenario, failing to cover three in a row as the pressure mounts to become the first team in NBA history to finish the regular season unbeaten at home and also top Chicago’s 72-10 record.

All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark.