The Boston Celtics host the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night in Game #81 of their regular season, with Boston looking to steady itself after a loss and New Orleans trying to end a difficult road trip on a better note at 7:30 PM ET. It is the second and final meeting between the teams in the 2025-26 season.
The teams have already seen each other once this season, when Boston beat New Orleans 122-90 in New Orleans on October 27, and the Celtics have controlled the matchup for some time. Boston is 29-21 all time against New Orleans and 16-8 at home against the Pelicans, including a 2-0 sweep last season.
The game carries added weight for Boston because it enters the night 2nd in the East, four games behind first-place Detroit and two games ahead of New York. Cleveland is three games back of the Celtics, while Toronto, Atlanta and Orlando trail farther behind. Boston is 28-11 at home, 19-10 against Western Conference teams and 7-3 in its last 10 games, but it is also coming off a loss and playing the second night of a back-to-back. The Celtics are 7-5 in such games.
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Jayson Tatum will not play because of the back-to-back, while Derrick White, Neemias Queta and Sam Hauser are listed as probable. Jaylen Brown is questionable. The absence list is longer on the New Orleans side, where Yves Missi, Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, Bryce McGowans, Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones, Saddiq Bey and Karlo Matkovic are all out. That leaves the Pelicans, who are 11th in the West, with a roster stretched thin at the end of a season that has gone poorly on the road, where they are 9-30.
New Orleans arrives at 2-8 in its last 10 games and 9-21 against Eastern Conference opponents, though it did win its last game. The Pelicans are 15 games behind the Clippers for eighth, 14 behind Portland for ninth and 11.5 behind Golden State, while sitting one game ahead of Memphis and Dallas and five games ahead of Sacramento. Boston’s home finish is lighter: one game remains after this one, against Orlando, while New Orleans has only Minnesota left.
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The Pelicans also have spent the second half of the season reshaping the roster. At the trade deadline, they sent Jose Alvarado to the New York Knicks for Dalen Terry, two second round picks and cash considerations, then waived Terry after the deal. They also converted Bryce McGowans to a contract with the main team and signed Josh Oduro to a 2-Way contract. Those moves have not changed the broader picture much. Friday’s game is still about a contender trying to keep position in the East, and a West team trying to get through the final stretch without more damage.
