Pacers vs. Celtics Game Two Prediction: Boston Leads Up 1-0 OT Thriller

The Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics are set for Game Two of the Eastern Conference Finals in TD Garden on Thursday.

The Celtics find themselves up 1-0 after they gave away and then reclaimed their lead. Jaylen Brown drilled a three-pointer with six seconds left to force overtime, and Jayson Tatum took over in the final period en route to 36 points and 12 rebounds.

The Pacers will feel better about themselves since they took the best team in the league to overtime on the road with four fewer days of rest, but they’ll also be discouraged by the final result. They were up three with the ball in their possession with less than 10 seconds remaining and still found a way to lose, which is unacceptable for any team, especially an underdog, in the playoffs.

Here, we will go over the betting odds and share our favorite pick for Pacers vs. Celtics Game Two on Thursday.

Pacers vs. Celtics Game Two Betting Odds for Thursday, May 23

The Pacers are 52-42-3 (55.3 percent) against the spread and 17-13-1 (56.7 percent) ATS as a road underdog. They covered in Game One and are 8-6 (57.1 percent) ATS in the playoffs.

The Celtics are 47-41-5 (53.4 percent) ATS and 25-21-2 (54.4 percent) ATS as a home favorite. They covered in two of six regular and postseason meetings with Indy and are 6-5 (54.5 percent) ATS in the playoffs.

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Pacers vs. Celtics Game Two Betting Prediction

Indiana Pacers Preview

The Pacers have been disrespected throughout the playoffs and proved their critics wrong at every turn. They pulled off upsets in the first two rounds despite their overall inexperience and played a better game than Boston in Game One.

However, it was that inexperience that cost them down the stretch in the series opener. Haliburton dribbled the ball off his leg and Andrew Nembhard threw an ill-advised pass on an inbound that led to a turnover, which a few seconds of game time later became Brown’s overtime-forcing three.

Indy shot 53.5 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from three in Game One. Haliburton. Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner all scored at least 23 points, and the bench contributed another 30. The team found a way to win the rebounding battle 44-43 and racked up an eye-popping 38 assists.

While the team perimeter defense was solid and held the Celtics to just 33.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc, they allowed them to take 45 attempts (leading to 15 makes). That’s after they held teams to a league-low 29.3 three-point attempts per game during the regular season.

Haliburton is one player to keep an eye on in Game Two. He scored 25 points and went 6-14 from three, bringing him to 22.3 points and 7.0 assists on 30.6 percent three-point shooting over his last six games. If he has truly broken out of his shooting slump that lasted several months, the Pacers are a much scarier team.

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Boston Celtics Preview

The Celtics made, frankly, a silly decision to put the pedal to the metal in Game One. They scored 30 or more points in the first three quarters but did not realize they played right into the strength of Indy, which is their rapid tempo.

The Boston defense had occasional problems getting set in transition and struggled whenever Al Horford was switched onto a perimeter player. The oldest player left in the playoffs logged 40 minutes but could have his leash shortened due to those defensive exploits (and since he only shot 3-12 from three). 

The Celtics didn’t mess with their converges too much and tried to stay out of rotation. That led to fewer communication breakdowns but also gave Indy some easy looks they took advantage of.

While Tatum’s box score was excellent, he was not. He did not take over the game at any point and was very disappointing in the fourth quarter yet again as he moved to 1-10 on the over for his three-point line in the playoffs (2-8 3PT).

Boston can play much better than it did in Game One but also needs to be wary. They have to give a better effort on defense and treat their opponents with more respect in general, seeing as they lost both Game Twos they played and are only one game over .500 at home across the last few playoffs.

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Pacers vs. Celtics Game Two Betting Pick

Boston’s poor performances at home in the playoffs are concerning, but it also feels like Indy’s best chance to steal a game on the road came and went on Tuesday.

The C’s either need to do a better job shooting or defending the three, as they won’t get away with what happened in Game One a second time in a row. They also can’t be outrebounded by a much smaller Pacers team that was weak on the boards all year.

We’ll take the Celtics to cover at home, but our patience is running thin with them and their lackadaisical approach.

• Pacers vs. Celtics Game Two pick: Celtics -8.5 (-115) at BetMGM

Pacers vs. Celtics Game Two

• When: Thursday, May 23 @ 8:00 p.m. ET

• Where: TD Garden, Boston, MA

• TV: ESPN

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