The opening game of the NBA In-Season Tournament quarterfinals takes place at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Monday night between the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers.
The team’s lone meeting this season came a little more than a month ago when Boston had its way with Indiana on Nov. 1, walking away with a 155-104 victory as a 13-point favorite.
In-Season Tournament MVP odds leader Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 30 points, while Pacers leading scorer Tyrese Haliburton sat out with a sprained ankle.
The Celtics are the only team in the quarterfinals who are road favorites, but Boston owns a dreadful 1-6-1 record against the spread (ATS) in their last eight games when laying points away from TD Garden.
Celtics vs. Pacers prediction
(7:30 p.m. ET. TNT)
Boston is riding a three-game winning streak after beating Philadelphia, 125-119, at home Friday, but the Celtics failed to cover as 11.5-point favorites.
Indiana is fresh off a 144-129 win on Friday night at Miami, winning convincingly despite the absence of Haliburton.
The All-Star guard, who leads the NBA in assists (11.8) and is 12th in points (27.0), missed the game because of a bruised knee and an upper respiratory infection.
He’s listed as questionable for Monday’s game.
Guard Bruce Brown’s 30 points led the way for the Pacers, who shot a scorching 66 percent from the floor against the Heat.
Indiana has shown it can play at a high level without Haliburton.
Since the loss to Boston, the Pacers are 5-0 in games he has missed, winning by an average margin of 10.8 points.
The Celtics aren’t without their own injury concerns entering the game.
Center Kristaps Porziņģis, who’s having a strong debut season with Boston, will miss his fourth straight game with a calf strain.
The Pacers are by far the top “over” team in the league by cashing in 16 of 18 games, including the earlier loss to the Celtics.
Betting on the NBA?
Indiana has struggled at home of late by losing three of its last four games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, but the Pacers are 2-0 straight-up/ATS as a home underdog this season.
The winner of Monday night’s game will face the survivor of Tuesday’s Knicks-Bucks matchup in the semifinals Thursday in Las Vegas.
You have to believe Haliburton will do everything in his power not to miss this game, and with Porziņģis out the edge goes to the home team.
Let’s take Indiana and the points against the In-Season Tournament favorites.
Best bet: Pacers +5.5 (-109, BetRivers)
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