Boston plays conference foe Indiana

Updated Mar. 23, 2023 2:02 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Indiana Pacers (33-40, 11th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Boston Celtics (50-23, second in the Eastern Conference)

Boston; Friday, 7 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics host Buddy Hield and the Indiana Pacers.

The Celtics are 29-16 in Eastern Conference games. Boston ranks third in the Eastern Conference in rebounding with 45.0 rebounds. Tatum leads the Celtics with 8.9 boards.

The Pacers are 23-22 in conference matchups. Indiana averages 26.8 assists per game to lead the Eastern Conference, paced by Tyrese Haliburton with 10.4.

The teams play for the third time this season. The Celtics won the last matchup 142-138 in overtime on Feb. 24. Tatum scored 31 points to help lead the Celtics to the win.

TOP PERFORMERS: Tatum is averaging 30.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists for the Celtics. Jaylen Brown is averaging 28.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists over the past 10 games for Boston.

Bennedict Mathurin is scoring 16.6 points per game and averaging 4.0 rebounds for the Pacers. Hield is averaging 15.8 points and 5.7 rebounds over the last 10 games for Indiana.

LAST 10 GAMES: Celtics: 5-5, averaging 118.5 points, 45.6 rebounds, 27.0 assists, 7.3 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 46.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 113.4 points per game.

Pacers: 5-5, averaging 120.6 points, 41.7 rebounds, 27.7 assists, 6.9 steals and 6.3 blocks per game while shooting 50.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 122.9 points.

INJURIES: Celtics: Payton Pritchard: out (heel), Danilo Gallinari: out (knee).

Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton: out (knee), Kendall Brown: out (tibia), Chris Duarte: out (ankle).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.