The Boston Celtics (28-7) will look to sweep a two-game road trip against the Indiana Pacers (20-15) on Monday night. Boston cruised to a 118-101 win at Indiana on Saturday, racing out to a 29-17 lead at the end of the first quarter before sealing the game with a dominant fourth quarter. The Celtics have the best record in the Eastern Conference, sitting 3.5 games ahead of Milwaukee. Indiana is in seventh place in the conference standings and is 4.5 games back of Milwaukee in the Central Division.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on Monday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Boston is favored by 3.5 points in the latest Pacers vs. Celtics odds, while the over/under is 244.5 points, per SportsLine consensus. Before entering any Celtics vs. Pacers picks, you’ll want to see the NBA predictions from the model at SportsLine.
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 Week 12 of the 2023-24 NBA season on a sizzling 112-62 roll on all top-rated NBA picks dating back to last season, returning well over $4,000. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Boston vs. Indiana. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several NBA odds and betting lines for Celtics vs. Pacers:
Pacers vs. Celtics spread: Pacers +3.5
Pacers vs. Celtics over/under: 244.5 points
Pacers vs. Celtics money line: Pacers: +138, Celtics: -163
Pacers vs. Celtics picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why the Pacers can cover
Indiana was unable to keep pace with Boston in the fourth quarter on Saturday, but it won its previous six games. The Pacers picked up a pair of wins over the Bucks during that stretch, along with a 150-116 win over Atlanta last Friday. Tyrese Haliburton accounted for 18 of the team’s franchise-record 50 assists in that game, while Myles Turner scored a team-best 27 points.
The Pacers trailed Boston by 12 points at the end of the first quarter on Saturday before cutting the deficit to three points entering the fourth quarter. Small forward Bennedict Mathurin scored a team-high 20 points off the bench, while Haliburton had 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Indiana has covered the spread in six of its last seven games, including five of its last six games against Eastern Conference opponents. Bruce Brown (knee) is questionable for Monday. See which team to pick here.
Why the Celtics can cover
Boston’s success against Indiana continued on Saturday, as it is now 12-5 in its last 17 road games against the Pacers. The Celtics have won eight of their last nine games overall to maintain their lead atop the conference standings. Power forward Jayson Tatum poured in 38 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out six assists on Saturday, shooting 14 of 23 from the floor.
Small forward Jaylen Brown had a big game as well, scoring 31 points on 13 of 20 shooting, while veteran Al Horford added 10 points, eight assists and seven rebounds off the bench. The Celtics opened the fourth quarter with a 16-4 run and maintained a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game. They have covered the spread in nine of their last 13 games, including five of their last six on the road. Tatum (ankle) and Kristaps Porzingis (eye) are questionable for Monday. See which team to pick here.
How to make Pacers vs. Celtics picks
The model has simulated Celtics vs. Pacers 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Over, and it also says one side of the spread hits in well over 50% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.