National Basketball Association

How to win $25,000 on Celtics vs. Magic and the NBA's Wednesday slate

Updated Sep. 20, 2023 1:41 p.m. ET

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By Kevin Cooney
Special to FOX Sports

With the defending NBA champion Lakers scuffling, the Eastern race beginning to take shape and the looming play-in tournament causing a lot of controversy among a few disgruntled players, the final 10 days of the NBA season should be a wild ride.

Wednesday night’s slate includes some great matchups between playoff-bound teams, including the red-hot Washington Wizards – who are 8-2 in their past 10 games and looking to grab the last seed in the play-in tournament – traveling to Milwaukee to face Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, who are coming off back-to-back wins over Brooklyn.

Some of those teams highlight the FOX Bet Super 6 contest for Wednesday night in the NBA.  

Enter the NBA Challenge contest on the FOX Super 6 app for free, and you can win this week's $25,000 jackpot! Download now at foxsuper6.com!

Check out the games for Wednesday night:

Boston Celtics vs. Orlando Magic, 7 p.m. ET

Every time you think the Celtics could be ready to make a little run, they stumble. Boston is currently in the seventh spot in the East and facing the play-in tourney if it doesn't catch fire. The bad news is the Celtics have five of their seven remaining games on the road, where they have been 13-18. 

The good news? There are a lot of teams like the Magic on the slate for Jayson Tatum & Co. – ones who are already planning a vacation for Memorial Day. Boston has won both matchups against Orlando this season by double digits.  

Phoenix Suns at Atlanta Hawks, 8 p.m. ET

The Suns have the top seed in the West in their sights, and they are playing like a group that believes it can make a title run. 

One of the things that make that possible? Their ability to win on the road. 

Phoenix is 22-9 away from Arizona. The Suns are also 25-9 against teams that are above .500. Devin Booker and Chris Paul have turned a quietly good team into a great one. 

Meanwhile, Atlanta has Trae Young back in the lineup after missing five games due to an ankle injury, and the Hawks have won back-to-back games after a pretty brutal showing in dropping two games to Philadelphia last week.

Philadelphia 76ers at Houston Rockets, 8 p.m. ET

The Sixers woke up in Texas on Wednesday morning with complete command of their destiny for the coveted top spot in the East, which would involve not having to play Brooklyn or Milwaukee until the conference finals. Philly is two games up on Brooklyn in the loss column and owns the tiebreaker, having won five straight since Ben Simmons returned to the lineup. 

Joel Embiid is averaging 29 points per game for the Sixers, who would like to wrap up the East to give their big man a break. Houston doesn’t figure to give the Sixers much of a push here – the Rockets are just 8-26 at home. Christian Wood has been a bright spot, averaging 21 points per game.

Washington Wizards at Milwaukee Bucks, 8 p.m. ET

The Bucks finished a sweep of the Nets in their two-game series Tuesday, drawing close enough to still earn the second seed and home-court advantage over Brooklyn in a potential second-round matchup. Jrue Holiday was outstanding Tuesday, scoring 23 points and dishing out 10 assists. 

Meanwhile, the Wizards are the surging team at the back end of the playoff field, moving into the 10 spot with an 8-2 mark in the past 10. Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook are clicking on all cylinders right now – Westbrook had 24 assists Monday in a defense-optional 154-141 win over Indiana.

San Antonio Spurs at Utah Jazz, 9 p.m. ET

The Spurs are in a struggle New Orleans for the 10th spot and a ticket to the play-in but have lost four in a row. That includes Monday's 110-99 loss at Utah, where Bojan Bogdanovich had 25 points and Rudy Gobert added 24. 

The Jazz are tied with the Suns for the top record in the West at 47-18 but would fall on a tiebreaker to Phoenix. Utah’s stretch of schedule is difficult after this – three of the next four games would involve teams currently in the playoffs – but eases up at the end.

New York Knicks at Denver Nuggets, 9 p.m. ET

The Knicks are on the cusp of returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2013 and could end up with the No. 4 seed and home-court advantage in the first round. Julius Randle’s MVP chants are certainly warranted, with 24.9 points per game. 

One final challenge awaits, however, for the Knicks before the postseason: a four-game trip to the West that starts in Denver, where Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets have an iron grip on a top-four seed.  

Enter the NBA Challenge contest on the FOX Super 6 app for free, and you can win this week's $25,000 jackpot! Download now at foxsuper6.com!

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National Basketball Association

New York Knicks

Denver Nuggets

Julius Randle

Nikola Jokic

San Antonio Spurs

Utah Jazz

Rudy Gobert

Bojan Bogdanovic

Bradley Beal

Philadelphia 76ers

Houston Rockets

Dede Westbrook

Jrue Holiday

Milwaukee Bucks

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Ben Simmons

Joel Embiid

Trae Young

Chris Paul

Devin Booker

Boston Celtics

Jayson Tatum

Atlanta Hawks

Orlando Magic