With the series shifting to Indianapolis for Game 3, can the Pacers finally get that elusive win over the Celtics?
Indiana’s offense has been a hot mess through the first two games of the series, averaging just 86.8 points per 100 possessions. They’ve shot under 40 percent from the field, just 31.1 percent on 3-pointers and just 58.1 percent from the free throw line. Credit the Celtics defense for two extremely strong performances but the Pacers are better than this, even without Victor Oladipo, and they’ll be looking to build a rhythm as the series moves to Indiana for Game 3.
On the other end, Boston has struggled on offense as well, just not quite as much as the Pacers. Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum have been fantastic but the rest of the roster has managed just 95 points across two games, shooting 7-of-32 on 3-pointers. Boston will be looking to get creative and see how they can create some easy scoring opportunities for Gordon Hayward, Al Horford and Jaylen Brown.
Below is everything you’ll need to watch Game 3.
Date: Friday, Apr. 19
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Venue: Conseco Fieldhouse
TV Info: ABC
Live Stream: Qualified subscribers can watch on ABC Live or the Watch ESPN app.
During the regular season, Indiana’s supporting cast played much better at home than on the road. Darren Collison, Myles Turner, Wes Matthews, Bojan Bogdanovic and Aaron Holiday all hit better than 40 percent of their 3s in Conseco Fieldhouse. The Pacers could also use a lot more from Domantas Sabonis, his facilitation helped unlock some things in Game 2 but Indiana will need more. If their shooters show up and they can put some points up, they could get themselves back in the series. If everyone continues struggling, this series might not even make it back to Boston.