The surging Boston Celtics will look to assume complete control of the 2024 NBA Eastern Conference finals on Saturday as they visit the Indiana Pacers for Game 3 in their best-of-seven series. The top-seeded Celtics, who are heavily favored to win the 2024 NBA Finals, took another step toward that goal by winning the first two games on their home court. They were outplayed for most of Game 1 before prevailing 133-128 in overtime. Game 2 provided little drama as Boston shrugged off a slow start to cruise to a 126-110 victory. Kristaps Porzingis (calf) remains out for Boston, while Tyrese Haliburton (hamstring) is questionable for Indiana.
The game from Gainbridge Fieldhouse will tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET. Boston is a 7-point favorite in the latest Pacers vs. Celtics odds from SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is 222.5. Before making any Celtics vs. Pacers picks, be sure to check out the NBA predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model enters the conference finals in the 2024 NBA playoffs on a sizzling 94-61 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning more than $2,800. Anyone following the model has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Pacers vs. Celtics and just locked in its picks and NBA playoff predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are the NBA betting lines and trends for Celtics vs. Pacers:
- Celtics vs. Pacers spread: Celtics -7
- Celtics vs. Pacers over/under: 222.5
- Celtics vs. Pacers money line: Celtics -278, Pacers +223
- BOS: The Celtics are 21-18-3 against the spread as a road favorite this season.
- IND: The Pacers are 37-26-3 ATS when playing with one day of rest.
- Celtics vs. Pacers picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why the Celtics can cover
The high-powered Celtics have been an even bigger juggernaut on the road. They are 4-0 in the 2024 NBA playoffs away from Boston, winning by an average of 13.5 points per contest. Most of those contests were in hand well into the fourth quarter and none went down to the wire. Moreover, they are coming off perhaps their most complete effort of the postseason.
They withstood a hot-shooting first quarter from the Pacers before responding with a 20-0 run bridging the first and second quarters that essentially put the game away. The stubborn Pacers made a spirited third-quarter run to close within two points, but Boston immediately responded with a spurt to go back ahead by double figures and was never threatened the rest of the way. Jaylen Brown continued his sizzling postseason with 40 points and five rebounds, while Jayson Tatum and Derrick White added 23 points each. See which team to pick here.
Why the Pacers can cover
Although the Pacers could still be haunted by letting Game 1 slip away in which they were basically a successful inbounds play away from stealing a road victory, a strong effort Saturday could get them back in the series. The NBA’s top-scoring team shot better than 52% in each of the first two games against a Boston defense that ranked third in the regular season (108. 1 ppg) and is considered elite when its players simply decided to exert maximum effort.
The Pacers are versatile and potent enough to find contributions from various sources, and they showed resilience by responding to Boston’s 20-0 Game 2 run and getting within one possession in the second half. Pascal Siakam led the way with 28 points on 13-of-17 shooting with five rebounds. See which team to pick here.
How to make Pacers vs. Celtics picks
SportsLine’s model is leaning Under on the point total, projecting 221 combined points. It has also generated an against-the-spread pick that hits in over 60% of simulations. You can only get the model’s picks at SportsLine.
So who wins Pacers vs. Celtics, and which side of the spread hits in over 60% of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Celtics vs. Pacers spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that has returned more than $2,800 on its NBA picks this season, and find out.
News Summary:
- Celtics vs. Pacers odds, prediction: 2024 NBA Eastern Conference finals picks, Game 3 bets by proven model
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