The Indiana Pacers host the Boston Celtics tonight for the second straight meeting between the two teams. They battled on Saturday in Indianapolis, when the Celtics beat the Pacers by 17 points.
The winning team played fantastic defense, and the Pacers had a rough night shooting the ball from deep. They’ll need to be more accurate to have a chance on Monday. “We just missed a couple of open shots… but we’ve got them in two days and we’ll be ready,” Pacers forward Obi Toppin said after Saturday’s battle.
Viewing and Betting Information
Tip off time: 7 p.m. Eastern Time
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Where to watch: NBA League Pass, Bally Sports Indiana, Bally Sports+, NBC Sports Boston
Spread and Over/Under: The Pacers are slight underdogs as they are currently +3.5 in the SI Sportsbook. The over/under for the game is 243.5.
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Pacers vs Celtics Injury Report
For the Pacers, Bruce Brown (right knee bone bruise) is questionable. He returned to action last week but missed Saturday’s game. Andrew Nembhard has missed two games in a row and is questionable with a mid-back sprain while Isaiah Jackson is questionable with a right fifth finger hairline fracture. Kendall Brown, Oscar Tshiebwe, and Isaiah Wong are questionable on their two-way contracts.
For the Celtics, JD Davison, Jordan Walsh, and Drew Peterson are out. Sam Hauser, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jayson Tatum are questionable.
Key Matchup
Aaron Nesmith vs Jayson Tatum: Assuming Tatum plays, he will give the Pacers trouble. The Celtics star had 38 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists on Saturday night. He tore the Pacers to pieces and made huge shots in the fourth quarter.
Nesmith defended Tatum more than any other player on Indiana’s roster this weekend, and he limited Boston’s MVP candidate to 1/6 shooting. Tatum was 13/17 against everyone else. Nesmith needs to defend at that level as often as possible tonight, and he needs to pair it with a better shooting performance—he was 3/13 (0/7 from deep) on Saturday.
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