Ahead of Celtics' Game Against Kings, Joe Mazzulla Discusses the Similarities and Differences Between the NBA's Highest-Scoring Offenses

The only NBA team generating more points per game than the Boston Celtics, who are producing 119.7 per contest, is the one in town for Friday night's matchup at TD Garden. The Sacramento Kings are averaging 120 points in their first 17 games, helping them get off to a 10-7 start this season.

That has Mike Brown's team fifth in the Western Conference standings, one game behind the first-place Phoenix Suns.

And as if tonight's tilt against the defending Eastern Conference champions, who at 14-4 sit atop the East, isn't enough motivation, there's also the added fuel from trailing by 60 points and losing by 53 in last season's trip to TD Garden.

Friday's matchup also represents a difficult test for a Celtics' defense facing an opponent that ranks in the top five in the percentage of their shots that come from beyond the arc for the second-straight game, per NBA.com.

Sacramento also loves to push the pace, ranking in the top five in that category, too, and the Kings share the ball effectively, further challenging defenses not to slip up as their attack comes flying down the court.

Discussing tonight's battle between the league's two-highest-scoring offenses, Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla conveyed the following.

"Both (of us) play with a good amount of pace, (we) both shoot a lot of threes, both have great spacing. So, I think it's just a matter of what we can limit. I think they get their threes a little bit differently than we do as far as transition, and (Domantas) Sabonis is as much of a playmaker as anything else, so really trying to limit how they get those. But it should be a good test for us, especially on the defensive end."

The Celtics-Kings game gets underway at 8:00 pm EST. Inside The Celtics will have content related to the game coming out before, during, and after. And follow @BobbyKrivitsky on Twitter for updates and analysis from pregame to post.

Further Reading

Here's What Stood Out in Celtics' Win vs. Mavericks: Boston At Its Best Against NBA's Top-Ranked Defense

The Top 5 Plays from Wednesday's Celtics-Mavericks Game

Here's When Robert Williams Reportedly will Return to Celtics Lineup

Celtics Fans will Absolutely Love What Jayson Tatum Said About Playing in Boston

Mavericks' Luka Doncic has Extremely High Praise for Celtics Star Duo

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