Friday night saw the Boston Celtics absolutely demolish the Indiana Pacers at TD Garden. They picked up a 142-105 victory, snapping a two-game skid, which included losses to the Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers. With the series tied at 1-1, the Celtics will be looking to beat Indiana again on Sunday.
The Pacers will be attempting to prevent that from happening. Indiana got completely shut down on Friday, falling victim to one of Jaylen Brown’s best games of the season. He poured in a season-high 44 points, and Boston’s defense smothered the Pacers’ offense, which was one of the best in the league last season.
Here are the injury reports for the Celtics’ game against the Pacers on Sunday, December 29.
Celtics injury report vs. Pacers on Sunday, December 29
- Jrue Holiday QUESTIONABLE (right shoulder impingement)
- Kristaps Porzingis QUESTIONABLE (left ankle sprain)
- Anton Watson OUT (left adductor strain)
Pacers injury report vs. Celtics Sunday, December 29
- Obi Toppin QUESTIONABLE (ankle)
- Andrew Nembhard QUESTIONABLE (injury management)
- Aaron Nesmith OUT (ankle)
- Isaiah Jackson OUT (Achilles)
- James Wiseman OUT (Achilles)
Neither Kristaps Porzingis nor Jrue Holiday played in the Celtics’ win over the Pacers on Friday night, and they are both listed as questionable with the same injuries heading into Sunday.
Porzingis rolled his ankle on Christmas Day against the Sixers, so he’s dealing with the remnants of that issue. Since returning from offseason foot surgery, the Latvian big man has dealt with a myriad of lower-body problems, his ankle sprain being the latest.
Meanwhile, Holiday has been on the injury report multiple times this year, and this time around, it’s his shoulder that’s giving him trouble.
Rookie two-way player Anton Watson is out on Sunday due to a left adductor strain. He's spent most of this season up in Maine with Boston's G League squad.
Indiana’s injury report looks very similar to the one that rolled out before the game on Friday.
Andrew Nembhard did not play on Friday due to left knee injury management, and he is questionable for Sunday. The same can be said for Obi Toppin, who missed Friday’s game with an ankle issue and is questionable for Sunday, too.
Aaron Nesmith, James Wiseman, and Isaiah Jackson are all out for Sunday night with long-term injuries.
Nesmith is still weeks away from returning from his ankle issue, while both Wiseman and Jackson are out for the season with Achilles tears.
Projected starting lineups for Celtics vs. Pacers
This is likely what the Celtics will roll with (depending on injuries):
- Derrick White
- Jaylen Brown
- Jayson Tatum
- Sam Hauser
- Al Horford
Here is what the Pacers’ first five could look like:
- Tyrese Haliburton
- Ben Sheppard
- Bennedict Mathurin
- Pacsal Siakam
- Myles Turner
