Indiana Pacers Need Push To Cover Spread Against Boston Celtics

Jason Tatum — Jayson Tatum will lead the way anew for the Celtics when they host the Pacers on Friday, Mar. 24. Photo

KEY POINTS

The Celtics are installed as heavy favorites to bear the Pacers
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are expected to lead the way for the Celtics
The Pacers need to push themselves if they want to make the play-in tourney

The Boston Celtics will play host to the visiting Indiana Pacers on Friday, March 24 at the TD Garden with the former installed as heavy favorites to prevail.

The two teams are 1-1 in their regular season series with the Celtics taking the last matchup, 142-138.

Oddsmakers pick the Celtics as -11.5 favorites to prevail over the Pacers in this third regular-season meeting.

Moreover, the moneyline is set at -750 for Boston and +500 for Indiana.

The Celtics are fresh from a 132-109 rout of the Sacramento Kings as they were led by All-Star Jayson Tatum, who had 36 points to go with eight rebounds and four assists.

Jaylen Brown backed up Tatum with 27 points, five rebounds, and four assists.

"He just did a great job coming out of the gate," Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said of Tatum via ESPN. "I thought him and Jaylen did a great job controlling the game with their decision-making."

A win by the Celtics would draw them nearer to the Eastern Conference-leading Milwaukee Bucks as they are currently toting a 50-23 win-loss card. Meanwhile, the Bucks are at 52-20.

The Pacers are also coming off a win over the Toronto Raptors. Andrew Nembhard held up the fort for Indiana with 25 points and 10 assists.

Myles Turner and Bennedict Mathurin chipped in 16 and 15 points respectively in the triumphant bid to tame the Raptors.

"For it to happen in Toronto, it's pretty cool," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle stated in the post-game via ESPN. "All three of those guys played well. Nembhard had a great game. Mathurin was terrific. I thought Brissett did what he does. He gave us energy, rebounded, he scored the first five points of the game. That was great."

Despite the odds, a win is essential to the Pacers who are outside the Top 10 teams in the Eastern Conference with a 33-40 win-loss record.

In addition, the Pacers are just half a game behind the Chicago Bulls, who are at 34-38.

The game will be telecast over NBA TV at 7:00 PM ET with live streaming also available via the NBA League Pass.