Sports Reporter | Capper
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The Boston Celtics have gotten out to a commanding lead going up 3-0 in the series with the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. They are coming off a 114-111 comeback victory after being down 18 points in Game 3 and will now be looking to close out the series and head to the NBA finals in this Memorial Day NBA Eastern Conference Finals matchup.
With that said, we take a look at this Eastern Conference Finals Game 4 matchup to make a Celtics-Pacers prediction and pick.
Boston Celtics (75-20) are on the verge of sweeping the Indiana Pacers becoming the Eastern Conference Champions and heading to the NBA Finals. The Celtics got down early in Game 3 but they were able to erase an 18-point deficit to outscore the Pacers by 15 points in the second half and come away with the 3-point victory.
The Celtics made 16 3's in Game 3 which was the deciding factor in the end. The best 3-point shooting team stayed true to their game outdueling the Pacers 16-5 beyond the arc. The Celtics as a team played great basketball, while Jayson Tatum led the team with 36 points, they had players like Al Horford step up who scored 23 points and made 7 shots beyond the arc.
Their starting five made all 16 3's in the game while their bench didn't make much of an impact this game. However, their bench is going to need to step it up in Game 4 so that they aren't playing catch-up as they were in Game 3.
Also, Tatum and Jaylen Brown will need to continue their torrid scoring pace as they have been all series long putting pressure on the Pacers to come out firing on all cylinders.
With the Celtics scoring at will against this lackluster Pacers defense and the Celtics clamping down on the defensive side of the ball not letting any easy open baskets, this will be the recipe for their success to close out the series in dominating fashion in Game 4 tonight.
Indiana Pacers (55-44) had their chance of taking Game 3 at home to make this a series but ultimately choked away an 18-point victory. Just hours before the Game 3, the Indiana Pacers announced that Tyres Haliburton would be out of the lineup due to injury and his status for tonight's do-or-die matchup for Game 4 is up in the air as well.
In his absence, it was Andrew Nembhard who stepped up in the biggest way leading the team with 32 points and 9 assists on the night. The Pacers also got great production out of:
The Pacers arguably played their best game of the series and still couldn't close it out in the end. They were on fire offensively in the first half of Game 3 only to falter down the stretch as the Celtics clamped up on defense.
The Pacers have the recipe to getting the job done as they showed in that first half of Game 3 but they will need to keep that first-half intensity for all four quarters. That's going to be the only way they can avoid elimination and getting swept in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Also, they will need Haliburton on the court, while he hasn't been efficient in this series he makes this team better with him there and without him, the Pacers' season could be over tonight. If the Pacers are at full strength the Pacers could extend this series to five games and take it back to Boston.
The Boston Celtics come into this road matchup in Game 4 with a ton of momentum after a come-from-behind victory on the road taking a dominating 3-0 series lead and putting the Pacers on the brink of elimination.
However, the Indiana Pacers will not go down without a fight and this is in a do-or-die situation the Pacers have shown this playoffs and I expect them to do it again in Game 4.
While they may not hold off the Celtics they certainly can keep this game within reach and cover the spread.
Ultimately, expect the Celtics to come out flat like they did in the first half of Game 3 and the Pacers to keep this game within reach to the end and cover the spread the chance of a potential upset.
FINAL CELTICS-PACERS PICK & PREDICTION: INDIANA PACERS +7 (-110)
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