Friday’s 10-game NBA slate had no shortage of action. The Boston Celtics handled the Chicago Bulls 125-111 in a game that lived up to its billing, while the Miami Heat put on an offensive clinic, torching the Indiana Pacers 145-125 in the day’s highest-scoring affair. The Minnesota Timberwolves dominated the LA Clippers 127-101, and the Detroit Pistons knocked off the Brooklyn Nets 110-94 on the road. Not everything went according to plan elsewhere, as the Washington Wizards held off the Charlotte Hornets in a low-scoring 95-79 contest, the Orlando Magic edged Toronto 121-114, and the Golden State Warriors turned away the Los Angeles Lakers 112-95 in the nightcap.
The XO Sports model went 5-5 on the day, hitting on five of ten picks. The model’s top picks were a mixed bag: the Celtics win came in clean, matching the predicted winner and even the margin closely, while the Detroit Pistons away win also delivered as the model’s highest-confidence top pick at 77.8%. On the other hand, the Toronto Raptors pick missed, with Orlando pulling the upset. The Denver Nuggets road win over Phoenix was correctly called, though that came with the model’s lowest confidence on the slate at just 51.9%.