Indiana Pacers vs Boston Celtics Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/23/2024

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Thursday, May 23, 2024

Venue:  TD Garden, Boston, MA

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Pacers +9, Celtics -9; Over/Under:  224.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Pacers +9, Celtics -9; Over/Under:  224.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Pacers +8.5, Celtics -8.5; Over/Under:  224.5 points

Indiana Pacers:  47-35 (3rd place, Central Division)

Boston Celtics:  64-18 (1st place, Atlantic Division)

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Indiana Pacers:  5-5 last 10

Boston Celtics:  8-2 last 10

The Pacers are entering this game with a 47-35 record overall to finish the regular season and they were 21-20 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the Boston Celtics in their last game. Tyrese Haliburton led the team in points in that game with 25 while Pascal Siakam was next on the team with 24 points. Tyrese Haliburton led the team in assists in that game with 10 while Pascal Siakam led the team in rebounds with 12. They were 53.5% from the field, 37.1% from 3-point range, and 90% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 123.3 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 120.2 PPG against them. The Pacers have an ATS record of 52-42-3 this season and their O/U record is 51-44-2.

The Celtics are entering this game with a 64-18 record overall to finish the regular season and they were 37-4 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game on a 4 game winning streak with wins coming against the Cleveland Cavaliers 3 times in a row and the Indiana Pacers in their last game. Jayson Tatum led the team in points in that game with 36 while Jrue Holiday was next on the team with 28 points. Derrick White led the team in assists in that game with 9 while Jayson Tatum led the team in rebounds with 12. They were 47.5% from the field, 33.3% from 3-point range, and 80% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 120.6 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 109.2 PPG against them. The Celtics have an ATS record of 47-41-5 this season and their O/U record is 49-44.

The current betting odds have the Celtics listed as a 9 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. This is game 2 of a 7 game series between the 1st seeded Celtics and the 6th seeded Pacers for the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA playoffs. The Celtics have a 1-0 series lead after winning game 1 of this series on their home court. The Celtics won game 1 in a very up and down game. The Celtics were leading for most of the game and even had double digit leads throughout the night, but the Pacers managed to keep the game within striking distance all night and even had a chance to win the game late before going to OT. The Celtics did control most of that game though and even though they were lucky to get out of overtime with a win, they will make sure that doesn't happen again in game 2. The Celtics had the best home record during the regular season with their 37-4 home record and they are going to bring their best effort to make sure they get that 2-0 series lead before going to Indiana. The Pacers have given them scares in other games this season and even knocked them out of the NBA In-Season Tournament earlier this year so the Celtics have some pent up anger against this team and they are going to let it out here after avoiding what could have been an upset in game 1. The Celtics have shown that they can control the game against the Pacers on their home court so they will make sure they don't allow the Pacers back into this game, learning from their mistakes in game 1. The best way to place a bet here is on the Celtics to cover the spread in this game. 

Pacers Celtics Prediction:  Our NBA Pick for Thursday, May 23, 2024 (8:00 pm ET start time) is Celtics 130 Pacers 111.

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Indiana Pacers: 26-18 ATS as an underdog. 26-14 ATS after 1 or more consecutive losses. 19-10 ATS revenging a same season loss vs opponent. 18-8 OVER against Atlantic division opponents. 9-5 OVER in all playoff games. 27-14 OVER after 1 or more consecutive losses.

Boston Celtics: 2-9 ATS after a win by 6 points or less. 2-9 ATS off a home no-cover where the team won straight up as a favorite. 24-18 OVER when the total is 220 to 229.5. 27-15 OVER after 4 straight games where they made 47% of their shots or better. 5-2 OVER after a combined score of 225 points or more.

Indiana Pacers:  B. Mathurin (SG) out for season - Shoulder.

Boston Celtics:  X. Tillman (PF) Ques Thur - Personal. K. Porzingis (PF) Late May - Calf.

“It’s unfortunate we did so many good things in this game that it came down to a couple of mistakes at the end, but it’s the NBA playoffs. We’ve got to learn from it and we’ve got to bounce back.” - Rick Carlisle after his team’s loss against the Celtics in game 1 of this series on Tuesday.

“Welcome to the NBA playoffs. You've just got to manage your emotions. Anything can happen. It's not over until the final buzzer sounds. ... It's not over until it's over. We found a way to win the game at the very end.” - Jaylen Brown after their win against the Pacers in game 1 of this series on Tuesday.

PG Tyrese Haliburton

SG Andrew Nembhard

SF Aaron Nesmith 

PF Pascal Siakam 

C Myles Turner

PG Jrue Holiday

SG Derrick White

SF Jaylen Brown

PF Jayson Tatum

C Al Horford

PPG: P. Siakam (21.7)

APG: T. Haliburton (10.9)

Reb/G: P. Siakam (7.1)

PPG: J. Tatum (26.9)

APG: D. White (5.2)

Reb/G: J. Tatum (8.1)

Coaches:

Indiana Pacers: Rick Carlisle (3rd season)

Boston Celtics: Joe Mazzulla (2nd season)