The Celtics will face the Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals

BOSTON – The Boston Celtics finally know their opponent in the Eastern Conference finals. While many were hoping for a Boston-New York showdown for a trip to the NBA Finals, the Indiana Pacers spoiled this Sunday afternoon with a Game 7 win over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

The Pacers shot an absurd 76 percent in the first half and led by 15 at the break on Sunday. While they cooled off a bit in the second half, the Pacers continued to run wild and beat the Knicks, 130-109, to advance to the conference finals for the ninth time in franchise history. Indiana shot 67.1 percent in Game 7, which was the highest shooting percentage of any playoff game in NBA history.

So the Pacers are coming in strong as they prepare to challenge the Celtics for a spot in the NBA Finals. If the upcoming series is anything like their regular season encounters, this should be a very entertaining battle.

Celtics vs. Pacers

Only one team averaged more points per game than the Celtics (120.6) during the regular season: it was the Pacers, with Indiana leading the rest of the NBA with 123.3 points per game on 50.7 shooting – which also led the NBA.

The big difference is that the Celtics, with 64 wins, also played excellent defense and led the NBA with a ridiculous 11.3 point differential, which is sixth best in NBA history. The Pacers aren’t very good on the defensive end, ranking 27th overall in the NBA with 120.2 points allowed per game.

Boston and Indiana met five times during the regular season, with the Celtics winning three of those matchups. They absolutely beat the Pacers in the first meeting, 155-104, at TD Garden on November 1st. The Celtics hadn’t scored this many points in a game since the days of Bill Russell and Bob Cousy during the 1958-59 season. . Tatum led the charge with 30 points, while six other Celtics scored at least 13 points.

The Pacers got their revenge a month later in the season quarterfinals, knocking out the Celtics with a 122-112 victory thanks to Tyrese Haliburton’s first career triple-double. The Celtics won at Indiana a month later on January 6 when Tatum made eight 3-pointers for 38 points while Jaylen Brown added 31 points in a 118–101 victory at Boston.

The Pacers hosted the Celtics again two nights later and won that one, 133-131, despite Haliburton’s absence. Brown scored 40 for the Celtics, who played without Tatum, but Boston lost when Bennedict Mathurin (26 points) knocked down the game-winning free throws after being fouled by Kristaps Porzingis on a 3-point attempt with 0 .6 seconds left.

The Celtics won the final game on January 30 at TD Garden with Tatum leading the way once again. He scored a game-high 30 points while Brown had 25 and Derrick White added 24 for Boston. Former Celtic Aaron Nesmith led the Pacers with 26 points, but Tatum blocked his layup attempt with 11 seconds remaining to help preserve Boston’s 129-124 victory.

Tatum has been a beast in his four games against the Pacers, averaging 32.5 points on 57.8 percent shooting overall and 48.6 percent from downtown. Brown was no slouch, scoring 28.4 points on 60.6 percent shooting in his five regular-season games against Indy.

Indiana is a run-and-shoot team and Haliburton is one of the most gifted and dangerous point guards in the NBA. Myles Turner is a tough matchup underneath while Pascal Siakam can beat you on both ends, and Nesmith is a ball of energy that always pits him against his old team.

Boston’s defense is going to have its hands full with the Pacers’ fast-paced offense, but there is no excuse for the Celtics to lose this series. The Pacers will give them a chance, but the Celtics are a much better team from top to bottom.

What is the Eastern Conference Finals schedule?

Here’s a complete look at the Celtics and Pacers’ upcoming schedule.

Match 1: Tuesday May 21 at 8 p.m. in Boston
Match 2: Thursday May 23 at 8 p.m. in Boston
Match 3: Saturday May 25 at 8:30 p.m. in Indiana
Match 4: Monday May 27 at 8 p.m. in Indiana
Match 5: Wednesday May 29 at 8 p.m. in Boston*
Match 6: Friday May 31 at 8 p.m. in Indiana*
Match 7: Sunday June 2 at 8 p.m. in Boston*
* If necessary

The Pacers are the only team still in the playoffs with a perfect home playoff record, going 6-0 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Celtics are 4-0 on the road in the playoffs, but 4-2 at TD Garden.

The Pacers finished the regular season sixth in the East, but beat the third-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in six games in the first round before upsetting the Knicks in seven to get to this point.

This will be the seventh time the Celtics and Pacers have met in the playoffs, but the first time they have faced each other outside of the first round. Boston has won four of the previous playoff games, including the most recent in 2019.

Will Kristaps Porzingis play in the Eastern Conference Finals?

Celtics Center Kristaps Porzingis injured his calf in the first round against the Miami Heat and was forced to miss Boston’s second round victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Although Porzingis is getting closer to returning to the court, he is expected to miss the start of the Eastern Conference Finals.

According to ESPN, Porzingis will likely miss the first two games of the series. The report goes on to say that “there is optimism” Porzingis could be back before the series ends. The report states that the center, who averaged 20.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in his first season in Boston, has “stepped up his activity on the court in preparation for an anticipated return to the Finals of conference “.