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Indiana Pacers (10-34) at Boston Celtics (26-16)
Wednesday, January 21, 2026
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #43 Home Game #20
TV: NBCSB, FDSN, NBA-LP
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 107.5 The Fan, Sirius XM
TD Garden
Probable Celtics Starters 
PG: Derrick White ...................................... SG: Payton Pritchard
C: Neemias Queta
SF: Jaylen Brown ............................................ PF: Sam Hauser
Celtics ReservesAnfernee Simons
Hugo Gonzalez
Xavier Tillman
Jordan Walsh
Luka Garza
Baylon Scheierman
Chris Boucher
2-Way PlayersRon Harper, Jr
Max Shulga
Amari Williams
Injuries/OutJayson Tatum (Achilles) out
Josh Minott (ankle) questionable
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Probable Pacers Starters
PG: Andrew Nembhard.................................................. SG: Aaron Nesmith
C: Jay Huff
SF: Johnny Furphy .............................................. PF: Pascal Siakam
Pacers Reserves Tony Bradley
Kam Jones
TJ McConnell
Micah Potter
Ben Sheppard
Jarace Walker
Isaiah Jackson
Two-Way Players Quenton Jackson
Taelon Peter
Ethan Thompson
Injuries/Out Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles) out
Obi Toppin (foot) out
Bennedict Mathurin (thumb) questionable
Head Coach Rick Carlisle
Game Notes The Celtics return home from their road trip to host the Indiana Pacers. This is the 4th and final game between these 2 teams this season. The Celtics won the first game 103-95 on December 22 in Boston and they won the 2nd game 140-122 on December 26 in Indiana. They lost the 3rd game 98-96 in Indiana on January 12. 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 Celtic are 112-88 overall all time against the Pacers. They are 64-28 in games played in Boston.
The Celtics are 2nd in the East, 5.5 games behind 1st place Detroit. They are 1.5 games ahead of 2nd place New York. They are 2 games ahead of 4th place Toronto, 2.5 games ahead of 5th place Philadelphia and 3 games ahead of 6th place Orlando and 7th place Cleveland. The Celtics are 19-10 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 12-7 at home and 6-4 in their last 10 games. They are coming off a loss in their last game.
The Pacers are 15th in the East, 22.5 games behind first place Detroit and 17 games behind 2nd place Boston. They are 9.5 games behind 10th place Atlanta, 3.5 games behind 13th place Brooklyn, and 1 game behind 14th place Washington. The Pacers are 7-22 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 2-18 on the road and 4-6 in their last 10 games. They have lost their last 2 games.
The Celtics are playing at home after a 4 game road trip. They lost the first game of that road trip in Indiana. After this game at home vs Indiana, they will play Brooklyn and Chicago on the road.They will then have another 4 game home stand where they will host Portland, Atlanta, Sacramento and Milwaukee. Then, they are on the road at Dallas and Houston before playing Miami, New York, and Chicago at home, taking them into the All Star Break.
This is the 3rd game of a 5 game road trip for the Pacers. They lost the first to at Philadelphia and Detroit and will complete the trip at Oklahoma City and Atlanta. They will then host Chicago, Atlanta, Houston and Utah before a 6 game road trip through Milwaukee, Toronto, New York, Brooklyn. They will finish the road trip with 2 games at Washington after the All Star break.
For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum remains out as he continues to rehab from the Achilles tear he suffered in last year's playoffs. Josh Minott will miss his 8th straight game with an ankle sprain. Jaylen Brown is listed as probable for this game with left hamstring tightness. For the Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton remains out as he rehabs from the Achilles tear he suffered in the Eastern Conference Finals. Bennedict Mathurin is out due to a thumb injury. Obi Toppin is out due to a foot injury.
Key Matchups vs
Sam Hauser vs Pascal Siakam
Siakam is averaging 23.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 48.1% from the field and 38.0% from beyond the arc. Over his career, Siakam has averaged 17.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game against the Celtics. In the 3 games this season, he averaged 19 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists while shooting 50% from the field and 36.4% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to defend him well in this game.
vs
Derrick White vs Andrew Nembhard
Nembhard is averaging 17.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 7.1 assists while shooting 44.9% from the field and 36.6% from beyond the arc. Over his career against the Celtics, he has averaged 10.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. In the first 3 games against the Celtics this season, he averaged 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 8 assists while shooting 45% from the field and 56.3% from beyond the arc. Hopefully White will emerge from his mini shooting slump of late and have a big game.
Honorable Mention Payton Pritchard vs Aaron Nesmith
Nesmith is averaging 13.4points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 35.2% from the field and 35% from beyond the arc. Over his career against the Celtics, he averaged 11.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. He missed the first 2 games against the Celtics this season but in the 3rd game, he finished with 6 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists while shooting 22.2% from the field and 33.3% 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 30th in the league with an offensive rating of 107.9 while the Celtics have an offensive rating of 121.4 (2nd). The Celtics are 14th in the league with a defensive rating of 114.0. The Pacers are 19th with a defensive rating of 116.0. In the first game between these two teams, the Celtics allowed the Pacers to score 61 points in the first half and they trailed by 18 points at the half. They held them to 34 points in the second half and won the game. The Celtics have to play tough defense from the tip through the final buzzer in this one and not allow the Pacers to get any offensive rhythm.
Rebound - Rebounding is also an important key to winning every game. The Celtics are 10th in the league, pulling down 44.9 rebounds per game. The Pacers are 23rd with 42.8 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. 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.
Move the Ball Carefully - The Celtics need to move the ball to get the best shots. The Celtics are much better when they move the ball and don't lapse into iso ball. Against the Pistons, the Celtics finished with just 13 assists. They are 17-1 when they have 25 or more assists and they are just 9-15 when they have fewer than 25 assists. Jaylen Brown especially needs to get back to moving the ball instead of trying to score on every possession. Even though the Celtics usually take good care of the ball, they lose focus at times and turn the ball over too much. They need to make careful passes and keep the ball moving.
Don't Underestimate - It would be easy for the Celtics to underestimate the Pacers and expect an easy win. But that would be a mistake, especially since they did just that in their last game against the Pacers and lost the game. Any team can win on any night if the other team lets down their guard. The Celtics have to come out and play hard and not underestimate the last place Pacers.
X-Factors Home Game and Revenge - The Celtics are at home and should have the crowd behind them. The Celtics need to protect home court and use the crowd support for motivation. The Pacers have to deal with travel and staying in hotels and playing on an unfamiliar court and in front of hostile fans. The Celtics need to remember their loss to these Pacers earlier this month and fight hard to avenge that loss with a win in this one.
Officiating - The officiating can always be an x-factor. Some referees call the game tight and others let them play. Some favor the home team and others call it evenly. Some refs just seem to have an agenda that doesn't fit the play on the court. And sometimes the refs are simply bad. The 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: Pacers (10-34) at Celtics (26-16) Game #43 1/21/26 (Read 300 times)