Plenty of offense on tap as Celtics, Pacers meet in East finals

May 20, 2024 – 3:41 PM PDT

By Reuters

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Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) and Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) block Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) and Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) block Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo

Based on past performance, it’s unlikely that generating good offense will be a problem for either team when the Indiana Pacers visit the Boston Celtics for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Tuesday night.

Sixth-seeded Indiana led the NBA in scoring during the regular season, when it averaged 123.3 points per game. Top-seeded Boston averaged 120.6 points per contest in the regular season, which ranked No. 2.

The Pacers shot 67.1 percent from the field — an NBA playoff record — when they beat the host New York Knicks 130-109 in Game 7 of the conference semifinals Sunday. Tyrese Haliburton led the way with a 26-point performance.

“I’m just proud of this group,” Indiana’s Myles Turner said. “This is the most special group I’ve been around since I’ve been here. We all play for each other. There’s no ego. When you have guys who can score 15-plus points every single night — seven, eight guys — there can be a lot of ego involved with that, and we were able to nip that in the bud a lot early in the season.

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