Boston Celtics vs Portland Trail Blazers (01-26-2026) game preview: When and where to watch, expected lineup, injury report, prediction, and more

The Portland Trail Blazers begin a three-game east coast road trip against the Celtics, one of the NBA's biggest success stories this season on Monday night in Boston. They just finished a 1-1 road trip, winning in Brooklyn and then losing the next day in Chicago. The Celtics are 13-7 at home, but this will be their third game in four nights. Both teams will want to recover from difficult defeats. The Blazers (23-23) lost to the Toronto Raptors 110-98 at home on Friday night, scoring just 12 points in the first quarter. For just the sixth time this season, they failed to reach the 100-point threshold despite fighting back to make the game competitive.Tonight's NBA game pits the Boston Celtics (28-17) against the Portland Trail Blazers (23-23). The tipoff will take place at Boston, Massachusetts' TD Garden at 8:00 p.m. ET. Peacock and Prime Video will telecast the game live.PG Payton PritchardSG Derrick WhiteSF Jaylen BrownPF Sam HauserC Neemias QuetaPG Jrue HolidaySG Toumani CamaraSF Deni AvdijaPF Jerami GrantC Donovan ClinganThe Celtics are currently narrowly holding onto second place in the Eastern Conference after going just 5-5 in their previous ten games. The Toronto Raptors are gaining up to them, but they are still 5.5 games behind the Detroit Pistons in first place.The Blazers, on the other hand, have recently been unstoppable. The Celtics will be catching Portland at a difficult moment, much like they did against the Bulls on Saturday, who had won three straight going into the game.They have won 11 of their previous 15 games, including 4 of their previous 5. They have defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, the Celtics, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Houston Rockets twice during their recent winning streak. Now, they are ready for a face off.