The Pacers come back home to host Game 3 of their first-round series with the Boston Celtics. Indiana, who trail 0-2, has struggled to find any consistency at the offensive end of the floor. On the heels of a 12-point fourth-quarter in Game 2, they need to find a way to either drag this game into an even lower-scoring affair or get their offence going.

NBA Playoffs Point Spread and Betting Analysis

The Celtics lost three of four against Indiana in the regular season, including both road games. They were a dog just 17 games this season, going 6-11 straight up and 8-9 ATS. For what it’s worth, the Celtics have covered eight of their last 11 Friday games.

The Pacers have failed to cover the spread in each of their first two games of the series. The team played its best basketball at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in the regular season, producing a 29-12 record at home. They are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games versus a team with a winning record.

Boston Celtics

The final score alone doesn’t do justice to how Game 2 played out between these teams. Boston rallied back from a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to take the lead with a go-ahead three-point shot from Jayson Tatum in the final minute. They never looked back after that. The fact that the Celtics still managed to win and cover is downright impressive.

Their offence has also struggled in this series outside of Kyrie Irving, who has been the leader. Irving helped spark the fourth-quarter comeback with a game-high 37 points. Tatum chipped in with 26 points. Gordon Hayward had 13. Even so, the Celtics are lucky to be up 2-0 considering they are averaging 91.5 points per game. Al Horford has really fallen off, scoring just 14 points in two games while shooting 36.7% from the field.

Indiana Pacers

Perhaps the biggest question heading into Game 3 is whether or not the Pacers can bounce back after what happened in Wednesday’s loss. Indiana led for most of the first three quarters but couldn’t finish the job when it mattered the most. They struggled to slow down Boston’s offence and they also missed some important shots at the offensive end of the floor. That’s the issue when you’re lacking a star. They no longer have a go-to guy when the game is on the line.

Indiana will definitely need some big performances from players like Bojan Bogdanovic and Thaddeus Young in order to have a chance. Bogdanovic scored a team-high 23 points in Game 2 while Young had 15. The team need more out of Myles Turner, who averaged 13.3 points per game in the regular season. He has a total of 13 points in the series. If he steps up, the Pacers can pull out a win in Game 3.

CELTICS

Away

94

PACERS

Home

98

Score
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