The Toronto Raptors have won seven of their last nine and defeated the Pacers 101-94 in overtime last night to move within two games of the Cavaliers for the top seed in the conference. They'll host a more desperate Boston Celtics team Friday night and I like the visitors chances of recording an upset.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Situational - The Celtics have lost three straight and four of their last five and need to pick up wins to stay in contention for third seed in the conference. They fell 130-109 against the Thunder Wednesday but are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games following a straight up loss of more than 10 points and 9-4-1 ATS in their last 14 games when coming up against a team with a winning % above .600.

2. Isaiah Thomas - The Celtics' guard has averaged 27.3 points on 49.2 percent shooting in his last seven games. He's off a 29 points performance in Wednesday's defeat and his message regarding this upcoming game against Toronto at the press conference after was clear; "We gotta win," he told the team's official website.

3. X-Factor - Boston is 15-17 straight up on the road this season but Toronto has failed to cover the spread in each of its last four when hosting a team with a losing road record.

Selection: This is a play on the Boston Celtics (10*)