Indiana Pacers will host Boston Celtics during In-Season Tournament Quarterfinals next Monday
After last night's NBA results wrapped up the Group Play round of the NBA's inaugural In-Season Tournament, it's official: the Indiana Pacers will host the Boston Celtics for one of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal games.
The Pacers clinched a home game for the opening outing of the Knockout Rounds by going undefeated in Group Play. They wrapped things up and secured said home game by taking down the Detroit Pistons last Friday.
The Pacers went 4-0 in Group Play, sweeping Eastern Conference Group A. They won the four games by a combined 39 points, which ended up being important. The Milwaukee Bucks went on to win Group B in the East, and they also went undefeated. But the Bucks won their four battles by 46 combined points, so they are the first seed in the East for the Knockout Rounds.
The Pacers are the second seed and will host the third seeded Celtics. Boston earned that slot by winning Group C in their conference, something they locked up Tuesday night by destroying the Chicago Bulls. The Celtics needed to win by at least 23 points to advance given other results, and they beat the Bulls by 27.
The Bucks will host the fourth-seeded New York Knicks, who earned the wild card spot in the East by being the best second-place finisher among all three groups in the conference. They beat the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday to secure that spot with their point differential.
The full bracket, including the Western Conference side of things, can be seen in the tweet below.
The Pacers will host the Celtics in the very first game that is a part of the Knockout Rounds. The game will take place in Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Monday, December 4. Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 pm Eastern, and the game will be broadcasted on both TNT and Bally Sports Indiana.
"I had the Milwaukee game and the Boston game on last night," Pacers forward Obi Toppin said of his Tuesday night. He was eager to find out who his team would be playing next week. "I guess we're playing Boston now. Looking forward to it,"
Head coach Rick Carlisle was keeping up with the scores around the league too. "Who wasn't? The whole world is watching this thing," he said of the In-Season Tournament. Then, he began to speak on the Celtics. "We drew a tough team. We understand the challenge there is going to be significant."
Indiana lost by more than 50 points in Boston earlier this season, and the Celtics have the best net rating in the NBA. They are a formidable foe, and one that will be a tough test for the blue and gold. With five days still to go before the game, Indiana is 9-7 while Boston is 14-4.
The winner of the Pacers-Celtics duel will move on to the Semifinals, which will take place in Las Vegas on December 7. That team would play the winner of the Milwaukee vs New York game in that setting. Should Boston take down Indiana, then the blue and gold would play against the loser of the Knicks vs Bucks game at a to-be-determined location and time.
This is the first year of the NBA's In-Season Tournament, and it has been enjoyable for many around the association. By reaching the quarterfinals, each player on the Pacers roster will take home at least a $50,000 prize. If they lose in the Semifinals, that number jumps to $100,000. It's $250,000 per player to the runner ups and $500,000 per player to the winners. Coaches will receive the prizing as well. All the Knockout Round action begins starting next week.
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- Indiana Pacers and Tyrese Haliburton set multiple franchise records in a win over Atlanta Hawks, including points in a game. CLICK HERE.
- More confident and mature Myles Turner giving Indiana Pacers great minutes to begin the season. CLICK HERE.
- Indiana Pacers sloppy performance leads to loss against Portland Trail Blazers. CLICK HERE.
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