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2023-24 NBA Regular Season
Boston Celtics v Houston Rockets
TD Garden
Boston, Massachusetts
Sunday 14 January 2024
Tip-off at 02:00
Recent history is on Boston Celtics' side as they prepare to welcome Houston Rockets to the TD Garden on the morning of Sunday, January 14.
The Celtics won five in a row against the Rockets before seeing that sequence come to an end on 13 March 2023 after slipping to a narrow 111-109 defeat.
Joe Mazzulla's team have been phenomenal this season and boast the best record in the
NBA (28-8) to lead the way in the Eastern Conference.
Just two days after claiming a convincing 118-101 victory over Indiana Pacers on January 7, Boston went down 133-131 in Indianapolis after Bennedict Mathurin sank two free throws with 0.6 seconds remaining on the clock.
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Jaylen Brown scored a game-high 40 points for the Atlantic Division outfit, sinking 17 of 26 shots, and Mazzulla praised the shooting guard for coming good in the absence of injured Jayson Tatum, but felt they were poor defensively.
"He stepped up and didn't force anything. He let the game come to him. He scored in many different ways," Mazzulla said.
"We all played a relatively decent offensive game, but we all have to be better on defense."
The Rockets have blown hot and cold this season and find themselves outside the playoff places in the Western Conference in eighth with a record of 18-17.
Ime Udoka's team made a positive start to the New Year, winning three of their opening four games before suffering 120-113 defeat to Miami Heat on January 9.
Fred VanVleet led the scoring with 32 points, but the Heat were up for almost the entire game, with Bam Adebayo getting 18 points and 10 rebounds in the second half.
Still the Rockets have improved markedly from the previous two seasons and Udoka has seen a more competitive side from his players in 2023-24.
"For me, not surprised or happy," Udoka said. "They bought in from Day 1 and once you see the competitive side, the mindset, you know you have the right guys there. We had five or six games that we could have flipped the other way."
Boston Celtics v Houston Rockets - Head-to-head, Regular Season
Games played: 151
Celtics wins: 95
Rockets wins: 56
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