Final: Celtics 118, Pacers 101 - Tatum closes out Pacers

BOSTON CELTICS at INDIANA PACERS

7:00 p.m. - NBC Sports Boston

Line: Boston -6.5

INJURIES

Boston: None

Indiana: Bruce Brown (OUT, knee), Andrew Nembhard (OUT, back)

NOTES

- Both teams are on a back-to-back. Indiana played at home last night, blowing out the Atlanta Hawks by 34.

THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR

1. Keep Tyrese Haliburton in check: He’s an elite point guard, so he’s going to get his numbers. The key for Boston is keeping those numbers manageable. If he finishes with, like, 22 points and 6 assists, then they should be fine. If he has one outlier number … a monster shooting night or, like he did last night, an 18 assists/2 turnover night … this is going to be tough. 

2. Move the ball: The Pacers defense is not good. Put some pressure on these guys to make decisions and they will inevitably make a wrong one.

3. Feed Kristaps Porzingis: He didn’t play the last time, and he can be the key to destroying the Pacers “defense.” Indiana has no answer for Porzingis, so exploit that and the rest of the guys will feast.  

Follow along with my thoughts as the game goes on. They’ll show up below and in the comments section, so hop in and share your opinion as well.