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Boston Celtics (18-11) at Indiana Pacers (6-24)
Friday, December 26, 2025
7:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #30, Road Game #15
TV: NBCSB, FDSIN, NBA-LP
Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub, 107.5 The Fan, Sirius XM
Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Probable Celtics Starters 
PG: Derrick White ...................................... SG: Payton Pritchard
C: Neemias Queta
SF: Jaylen Brown ............................................ PF: Jordan Walsh
Celtics ReservesAnfernee Simons
Hugo Gonzalez
Xavier Tillman
Josh Minott
Sam Hauser
Luka Garza
Baylon Scheierman
Chris Boucher
2-Way PlayersRon Harper, Jr
Max Shulga
Amari Williams
Injuries/OutJayson Tatum (Achilles) out
Chris Boucher (personal) out
Jordan Walsh (illness) probable
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Probable Pacers Starters
PG: Andrew Nembhard.................................................. SG: Ethan Thompson
C: Jay Huff
SF: Benedict Mathurin .............................................. PF: Pascal Siakam
Pacers Reserves Tony Bradley
Johnny Furphy
Kam Jones
Garrison Mathews
TJ McConnell
Jarace Walker
James Wiseman
Two-Way Players Quenton Jackson
Taelon Peter
Ethan Thompson
Injuries/Out Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles) out
Aaron Nesmith (knee) out
Ben Sheppard (calf) out
Obi Toppin (foot) out
Isaiah Jackson (concussion) out
Head Coach Rick Carlisle
Game Notes The Celtics and Pacers complete a home and home set as the Celtics visit the Indiana Pacers at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse. This is the 2nd of 4 games between them this season. The Celtics won the first game 103-95 on Monday, 12/22. They will play again in Indiana January 12. They will finish out the series in Boston on January 21. The Pacers won the series 2-1 last season, with the Celtics winning one in Boston and losing 1 in Boston and one in Indiana.
The Celtics are 111-87 overall, all time against the Pacers and 41-58 in games played in Indiana. The Celtics last played on Monday when they beat these same Pacers. The Pacers played back to back games and last played on Tuesday, when they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks 111-94. Both teams should be well rested with 3 and 2 days off respectively.
The Celtics are 3rd in the East, 5.5 games behind 1st place Detroit, and 2.5 games behind 2nd place New York. They are 1 game ahead of 4th place Toronto and 1.5 games ahead of 5th place Philadelphia and 6th place Orlando. The Celtics are 14-8 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 8-6 on the road and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They have won their last 3 games.
The Pacers are 14th in the East, 18 games behind first place Detroit. They are 4 games behind 13th place Brooklyn and 12th place Charlotte. They are 6 games behind 11th place Milwaukee. They are tied with last place Washington. The Pacers are 4-14 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 5-11 at home and 2-8 in their last 10 games. They have lost their last 6 games.
Unlike the Celtics that changed a lot after Jayson Tatum's Achilles injury, the Pacers stayed mostly the same with just a couple changes after Tyrese Haliburton's Achilles injury. Like the Celtics they lost 2 centers to free agency when Myles Turner and Thomas Bryant left. The Pacers signed Jay Huff to fill Turner's role at center. They also drafted Kam Jones with the 38th pick and Taelon Peter with the 54th pick. Both teams were expected to take a gap year but the Celtics somehow are competing for a playoff spot, while the Pacers are not even though the Celtics also lost their starting point guard and their 2nd string center.
This game in Indiana begins a 5 game road trip that will take the Celtics through Portland, Utah, Sacramento and the LA Clippers before they head home for a 4 game home stand where they host Chicago, Denver, Toronto, and San Antonio before a 4 game road trip through Indiana once again, Miami, Atlanta and the final game at Detroit.
After this game against the Celtics, the Pacers will play at Miami, and at Houston before returning home to host Orlando and San Antonio. Then they play at Orlando, at home against Cleveland, at Charlotte and then back home for a 4 game home stand where they will host Miami, Boston, Toronto and New Orleans before heading out on a 5 game road trip that will include the final game against the Celtics.
Jayson Tatum remains out with the Achilles injury he suffered in last year's playoffs, one round earlier than Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton injured his Achilles. Jordan Walsh left Saturday's game with an illness and missed Monday's game against Indiana. He is probable for this game. Chris Boucher is listed as out for this game for personal reasons.
For the Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton is out due to that Achilles tear. Aaron Nesmith is out due to a knee injury. Ben Sheppard is out with a Grade 1 left calf strain. Obi Toppin is out after surgery to place a screw in his right foot. Isaiah Jackson left Monday's game against the Celtics after being hit in the head and is out for this game due to a concussion.
Key Matchups vs
Jordan Walsh vs Pascal Siakam
Siakam is averaging 23.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 47.5% from the field and 37.0% from beyond the arc. Over his career, Siakam has averaged 17.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game against the Celtics. In Monday's game, he finished with 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists while shooting 50% from the field and 57.1% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to defend him better in this game.
vs
Jaylen Brown vs Benedict Mathurin
Mathurin is averaging 18.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.1 assists. He is shooting 42.1% from the field and 36.7% from beyond the arc. Over his career against the Celtics, he averaged 16.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists. In Monday's game, he finished with 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 1 block while shooting 35% from the field and 28.6% from beyond the arc.
Honorable MentionDerrick White vs Andrew Nembhard
Nembhard is averaging 17.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 6.4 assists while shooting 42.1% from the field and 34.9% from beyond the arc. Over his career against the Celtics, he has averaged 8.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game. On Monday, he finished with 20 points, 2 rebounds, and 7 assists while shooting 42.1% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc.
Keys to the Game Defense - Defense is the key to winning every single game. The Pacers haven't been the scoring juggernaut they were last season. They are last in the league with an offensive rating of 107.4 while the Celtics have an offensive rating of 120.8 (4th). The Celtics are 15th in the league with a defensive rating of 114.2. The Pacers are 19th with a defensive rating of 115.7. In Monday's game, the Celtics allowed the Pacers to score 61 points in the first half and they trailed by 18 points at the half. The held them to 34 points in the second half and won the game. They have to play tough defense from the tip through the final buzzer in this one and not just for one half.
Rebound - The Celtics are 17th in the league, pulling down 44.1 rebounds per game. The Pacers are 21st with 43.7 rebounds per game. It is important for the Celtics to rebound the ball to give themselves extra possessions and to prevent the Pacers from getting the same along with 2nd chance points. The Celtics were out-rebounded by 1 by the Pacers in the first half of Monday's game but they won the rebounding battle by 14 in the second half. Much of rebounding is effort and the Celtics have got to put out more effort than the Pacers to grab rebounds for all 4 quarters.
Don't Underestimate - It seemed that the Celtics came into Monday's game expecting to win the game without having to put forth much effort. As we saw, that was a mistake. The reserves came into the game and played hard, especially on the defensive end and after being benched in the 3rd quarter, the starters came back in with a much better effort. They have to come out and play hard from start to finish in this one and not underestimate the short handed Pacers.
3 Point Shooting - On Monday, the Pacers shot 40 threes while the Celtics shot 37 threes. The Celtics are 3rd in the league with 42.9 threes attempted per game while the Pacers are 18th with 36.6 threes attempted per game. The Celtics shot 27.8% on 3's in the first half and 31.6% in the 2nd half. The Pacers shot 60% from 3 in the first half and just 5% in the second half. The Celtics need to take the ball inside if the 3's aren't falling once again. They also need to defend the perimeter for all 4 quarters.
X-Factors On The Road and Rust - The Celtics are playing on the road and they are facing the distractions of travel and a hostile crowd and they can't allow those distractions to take away from their focus on the game. The Celtics have been off 3 days while the Pacers have been off 2 days and in the past, the Celtics haven't played all that well with more than 2 days rest. Hopefully they will come out focused and play hard for all 4 quarters.
Revenge and 1000 Wins - The Pacers are still stinging from giving up a 20 point lead in the 3rd quarter and losing the game on Monday. They tasted success against the Celtics and are going to come out playing hard to try to avenge that loss. Also Rick Carlisle has been sitting on 999 wins for the Pacers last 5 games. Joe Mazzulla hit a milestone in the win on Monday and the Pacers will be motivated to try to get a milestone for their coach in this game.
Officiating - Officiating can always be an x-factor. Every officiating crew calls the game differently. Will the refs call it tight? Will they let them play? Celtics have to play through however the refs call the game, whether it is tight or they let them play or they make terrible calls. The Celtics can't allow bad calls or no calls to take away their focus on the game.
Topic: Celtics (18-11) at Pacers (6-24) Game #30 12/26/25 (Read 560 times)