The Indiana Pacers are on the road at the Boston Celtics on Thursday for Game 2 of the best of 7 Eastern Conference Finals. The Boston Celtics won the first game in overtime to take a 1-0 lead in the series. The Pacers will look to even the series up before they head home to host the next two games.
Indiana went 47-35 in the regular season, and finished 6th in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers eliminated the Milwaukee Bucks in six games, and then went to New York and knocked off the Knicks in 7 games. Indiana had a lead late in Game 1 that they let slip away.
The Boston Celtics have been the best team in the National Basketball Association all season. With regular season and postseason combined, the Celtics are 73-20 this season. Boston eliminated the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers in five games in the first two series. Boston Celtics are -8.5 in this game at home over Indiana. The total for this affair is listed at 224.5.
Pesky Indiana Pacers
Game 1 is one that the Pacers would love to have back. Despite the loss though, the Pacers are excited to see they can compete in this series. Indiana saw seven guys score double digits in the loss. Tyrese Haliburton was the top scorer for Indiana with 25 points, and 10 assists in the game.
Pascal Siakam scored 24 points, dished out 7 assists and ripped down 12 rebounds in the game. Myles Turner also had a double double with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Siakam has scored 20+ in four straight postseason games for Indiana, while Turner’s double double was his second of the postseason.
Indiana was the top scoring team in the regular season. The Pacers scored 123.3 points per game. Indiana was the best shooting team in the league, making nearly 51% of their shots. The Pacers struggled on the glass, with 41.5 rebounds per game, but held their own in Game 1.
Top Seeded Boston Celtics
Jayson Tatum led the way with 36 points and 12 rebounds, and the Celtics hit 15 three point shots in Game 1. Boston made 48% from the field and led by as many as 13 at one point in the game. For Tatum, it was his third game in the last four for Boston with 30+ points.
Jaylen Brown was really good in the game as well. He scored 26 points. Boston’s five starters all had double digit points. Brown tied the game late and sent it into overtime. Jrue Holiday added 28 points in the win as well.
Boston in the regular season was just behind Indiana in scoring. The Celtics scored 120.6 points per game. Boston was also the top three point shooting team. They averaged 16.5 per game. The Celtics have also been good on the glass, with 46.3 rebounds per game.
Celtics Win Game 2
The Boston Celtics got a little lucky in Game 1. But, sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. The Celtics know they have to bounce back and play better basketball in Game 2. They will. The Celtics also know they have struggled in Game 2s so far in the postseason.
We like Boston to bounce back and win this game. Take the home team, Boston Celtics -8.5 over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday.
