Final: Celtics 142, Pacers 105 - Jaylen Brown's 44 powers easy C's win

BOSTON CELTICS (22-8) vs INDIANA PACERS (15-16)

TD Garden 7:30 p.m. - NBCS Boston/NBA TV

Line: Boston -12.5

This is the first of two straight games between the Celtics and Pacers

INJURIES

Boston: Kristaps Porzingis (OUT, ankle), Jrue Holiday (OUT, shoulder)

Indiana: Isaiah Jackson (OUT, Achilles), Andrew Nembhard (OUT, knee), Aaron Nesmith (OUT, ankle), Obi Toppin (OUT, ankle), James Wiseman (OUT, Achilles)

THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR

1: Defensive effort: The Celtics have not exactly been giving consistent defensive effort this season. When they do, they're great. When they don’t, they need their shooting to bail them out. The Pacers are going to be tough to defend regardless of injuries, so Boston needs to be on point. 

2: Payton Pritchard: He’s been in a little bit of a funk. I want to see him get some good looks and get back on track.

3: Tyrese Haliburton: I don’t know what happened to the superstar-in-waiting from a year ago, but Haliburton has been very mortal since his hamstring injuries last season. He went from being the talk of the league to having a big game once every few weeks. The Celtics need to make sure this is not one of those games.

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.