Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics dribbles the ball during the third quarter in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 23, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
The Boston Celtics play the Indiana Pacers tonight for Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals. Down two games, the Pacers are in desperate need of a win, or find themselves one loss away from a clean sweep and an exit from the playoffs.
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Keep reading for how and when to watch the Celtics vs. Pacers Game 3 tonight.
How and when to watch Boston Celtics vs. Indiana Pacers Game 3
Game 3 of the Boston Celtics vs. Indiana Pacers NBA Playoffs series will be played on Saturday, May 25, 2024 at 8:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. PT). The game will air on ABC and stream on Sling TV and the platforms featured below.
How to watch Boston Celtics vs. Indiana Pacers Game 3 without cable
If your cable subscription doesn’t carry ABC or you’ve cut the cord with your cable company, you can still watch today’s game. Below are the platforms on which you can watch today’s game live.
Save $25 on Sling TV: The most cost-effective way to stream the Celtics vs. Pacers game
If you don’t have cable TV that includes ABC, one of the most cost-effective ways to stream today’s game is through a subscription to Sling TV. To watch today’s game, you’ll need a subscription to the Blue tier, which includes access to ABC, and your local network affiliates (where available). To level up your coverage and get access to NBA playoff games and the NBA Finals broadcast on ESPN, subscribe to the Orange + Blue tier plan.
The Blue tier is $45 per month. The Sling’s Orange + Blue tier costs $60 per month, but the platform is currently offering $25 off the first month of any pricing tier, making the Orange + Blue tier $35 for the first month.
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Note: Because Sling TV doesn’t carry CBS, you won’t be able to watch CBS-aired programming like next year’s NFL games on CBS. To watch these games, plus PGA golf, UEFA Champions League and more live sports, we recommend you also subscribe to Paramount+ with Showtime. Paramount+ with Showtime costs $12 per month after a one-week free trial.
Note: CBS Essentials and Paramount+ with Showtime are both subsidiaries of Paramount.
Top features of Sling TV Orange + Blue tier:
Sling TV is our top choice to stream the NBA Playoffs.
There are 46 channels to watch in total, including ABC, NBC and Fox (where available).
You get access to NBA games airing on TNT.
All subscription tiers include 50 hours of cloud-based DVR storage.
Watch the Celtics vs. Pacers game for free with Fubo
You can also catch today’s game on Fubo. Fubo is a sports-centric streaming service that offers access to ABC and ESPN, in addition to almost every NFL game next season.
To watch the NBA Playoffs without cable, start a seven-day free trial of Fubo. You can begin watching immediately on your TV, phone, tablet or computer. In addition to NBA basketball, you’ll have access to NFL football, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and international soccer games. Fubo’s Pro Tier is priced at $80 per month after your free seven-day trial.
Sports fans will want to consider adding on the $7.99 per month Fubo Extra package, which includes MLB Network, NBA TV, NHL Network, Tennis Channel, SEC Network and more channels with live games. Or upgrade to the Fubo Elite tier and get all the Fubo Extra channels, plus the ability to stream in 4K, starting at $90 per month ($70 for the first month).
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Top features of FuboTV Pro Tier:
There are no contracts with Fubo, you can cancel anytime.
The Pro tier includes over 180 channels, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
Fubo includes most channels you’ll need to watch live sports, including CBS (not available through Sling TV).
All tiers come with 1,000 hours of cloud-based DVR recording.
Stream on your TV, phone, tablet and other devices.
Hulu + Live TV/ESPN+ bundle: Watch the Celtics vs. Pacers game live
You can watch today’s game with the Hulu + Live TV/ESPN+ bundle. The bundle features 95 channels, including ABC, TNT, local network affiliates and ESPN. It also includes the ESPN+ streaming service. Unlimited DVR storage is also included. Watch today’s game, the 2024 NBA playoffs, MLB this season and network-aired NFL games next season with Hulu + Live TV/ESPN+ bundle.
Hulu + Live TV comes bundled with ESPN+ and Disney+. It’s priced at $77 per month after a three-day free trial.
The best place to get NBA Playoffs fan gear: Fanatics
Rooting from home is more fun while repping your team with the latest NBA fan gear. Fanatics is our first stop for the newest NBA fan gear, our go-to for the latest drop of NBA Playoffs and NBA Finals merch like jerseys, commemorative T-shirts, hats and more. Fanatics also has just-released NFL Draft jerseys, like No. 1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams’ new Chicago Bears jersey. Shipping is free with code 24SHIP ($24 minimum order required).
2024 NBA Playoffs: Full playoff schedule
No. 32 Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Townes.
Getty Images
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Below is the schedule for the NBA conference finals. All times Eastern.
Eastern Conference
(1) Boston vs. (6) Indiana
• Game 1: Celtics 133, Pacers 128 • Game 2: Celtics 126, Pacers 110 • Game 3: Celtics vs. Pacers, Saturday, May 25 (8:30 ET, ABC) • Game 4: Celtics vs. Pacers, Monday, May 27 (8:00 ET, ESPN) • Game 5: Pacers vs. Celtics, Wednesday, May 29 (8:00 ET, ESPN)* • Game 6: Celtics vs. Pacers, Friday, May 31 (8:00 ET, ESPN)* • Game 7: Pacers vs. Celtics, Sunday, June 2 (8:00 ET, ESPN)*
Boston leads the series 2-0
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Western Conference
3) Minnesota vs. (5) Dallas
• Game 1: Mavericks 108, Timberwolves 105 • Game 2: Mavericks vs. Timberwolves, Friday, May 24 (8:30 ET, TNT) • Game 3: Timberwolves vs. Mavericks, Sunday, May 26 (8:00 ET, TNT) • Game 4: Timberwolves vs. Mavericks, Tuesday, May 28 (8:30 ET, TNT) • Game 5: Mavericks vs. Timberwolves, Thursday, May 30 (8:30 ET, TNT)* • Game 6: Timberwolves vs. Mavericks, Saturday, June 1 (8:30 ET, TNT)* • Game 7: Mavericks vs. Timberwolves, Monday, June 3 (8:30 ET, TNT)*
Dallas leads the series 1-0
* = if necessary
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Conference semifinals schedule
The conference semifinals is a best-of-seven series beginning on May 4, 2024.
Eastern Conference
(1) Boston vs. (4) Cleveland
• Game 1: Celtics 120, Cavaliers 95 • Game 2: Cavaliers 118, Celtics 94 • Game 3: Celtics 106, Cavaliers 93 • Game 4: Celtics 109, Cavaliers 102 • Game 5: Celtics 113, Cavaliers 98
Boston wins series 4-1
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(2) New York vs. (6) Indiana
• Game 1: Knicks 121, Pacers 117 • Game 2: Knicks 130, Pacers 121 • Game 3: Pacers 111, Knicks 106 • Game 4: Pacers 121, Knicks 89 • Game 5: Knicks 121, Pacers 91 • Game 6: Pacers, 116, Knicks 103 • Game 7: Pacers 130, Knicks 109
Indiana wins series 4-3
Western Conference
(1) Oklahoma City vs. (5) Dallas
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• Game 1: Thunder 117, Mavericks 95 • Game 2: Mavericks 119, Thunder 110 • Game 3: Mavericks 105, Thunder 101 • Game 4: Thunder 100, Mavericks 96 • Game 5: Mavericks 104, Thunder 92 • Game 6: Mavericks 117, Thunder 116
Dallas wins series 4-2
(2) Denver vs. (3) Minnesota
• Game 1:Timberwolves 106, Nuggets 99 • Game 2: Timberwolves 106, Nuggets 80 • Game 3: Nuggets 117, Timberwolves 90 • Game 4: Nuggets 115, Timberwolves 107 • Game 5: Nuggets 112, Timberwolves 97 • Game 6: Timberwolves 115, Nuggets 70 • Game 7: Timberwolves 98, Nuggets 90
Minnesota wins series 4-3
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First round schedule
Below are the results for the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
Eastern Conference
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (8) Miami Heat
• Game 1:Celtics 114, Heat 94 • Game 2: Heat 111, Celtics 101 • Game 3: Celtics 104, Heat 84 • Game 4: Celtics 102, Heat 88 • Game 5: Celtics 118, Heat 84
(2) New York Knicks vs. (7) Philadelphia 76ers
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• Game 1:Knicks 111, 76ers 104 • Game 2: Knicks 104, 76ers 101 • Game 3: 76ers 125, Knicks 114 • Game 4: Knicks 97, 76ers 92 • Game 5: 76ers 112, Knicks 106 (OT) • Game 6: Knicks 118, 76ers 115
(3) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (6) Indiana Pacers
• Game 1: Bucks 109, Pacers 94 • Game 2:Pacers 125, Bucks 108 • Game 3: Pacers 121, Bucks 118 • Game 4: Pacers 126, Bucks 113 • Game 5: Bucks 115, Pacers 92 • Game 6: Pacers 120, Bucks 98
(4) Cleveland vs. (5) Orlando
• Game 1: Cavaliers 97, Magic 83 • Game 2: Cavaliers 96, Magic 86 • Game 3: Magic 121, Cavaliers 83 • Game 4: Magic 112, Cavaliers 89 • Game 5: Cavaliers 104, Magic 103 • Game 6: Magic 103, Cavaliers 96 • Game 7: Cavaliers 106, Magic 94
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Western Conference
(1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (8) New Orleans Pelicans
• Game 1:Thunder 94, Pelicans 92 • Game 2: Thunder 124, Pelicans 92 • Game 3: Thunder 106, Pelicans 85 • Game 4: Thunder 97, Pelicans 89
(2) Denver Nuggets vs. (7) Los Angeles Lakers
• Game 1:Nuggets 114, Lakers 103 • Game 2: Nuggets 101, Lakers 99 • Game 3: Nuggets 112, Lakers 105 • Game 4: Lakers 119, Nuggets 108 • Game 5: Nuggets 108, Lakers 106
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(3) Minnesota Timberwolves vs. (6) Phoenix Suns
• Game 1:Timberwolves 120, Suns 95 • Game 2: Timberwolves 105, Suns 93 • Game 3: Timberwolves 129, Suns 109 • Game 4: Timberwolves 112, Suns 116
(4) LA Clippers vs. (5) Dallas Mavericks
• Game 1:Clippers 109, Mavericks 97 • Game 2: Mavericks 96, Clippers 93 • Game 3: Mavericks 101, Clippers 90 • Game 4: Clippers 116, Mavericks 111 • Game 5: Mavericks 123, Clippers 93 • Game 6: Mavericks 114, Mavericks 101
Conference finals schedule
The conference finals will begin May 21-22, but can move up to May 19-20 if the prior round’s series ends early.
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NBA Finals schedule
The 2024 NBA Finals will begin June 6, airing on ABC.
BOSTON (WHDH) – Getting around the city was made easier Tuesday after the Green Line reopened after a two-week shutdown affecting all branches.
The MBTA needed the closure to replace underground beams dating back to the 19th century.
Service returned Tuesday on the B branch between North Station and Babcock, on the C and D lines from North Station to Kenmore, and North Station to Heath Street on the E branch.
(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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After four seasons in which he emerged as a veteran leader and key bench player for the Red Sox, Rob Refsnyder’s time in Boston is over.
Refsnyder has signed a one-year contract with the Mariners, the club announced. According to a major league source, the deal will pay Refsnyder a base salary of $6.25 million in 2026. It also includes $250,000 in incentives.
Refsnyder, who turns 35 in May, was a journeyman utility player when he signed with the Red Sox as a minor league free agent in December 2021. Over the last four seasons, he found a home in Boston, where he mashed left-handed pitching and became an important clubhouse voice. Along with Trevor Story and Alex Bregman, Refsnyder helped form a core of older position players who helped the Sox navigate treacherous waters in the fallout of the Rafael Devers drama (and subsequent trade) over the summer. On the field, he was plenty productive, too, as he hit .269 with nine homers, 12 doubles and an .838 OPS in 70 games in his limited role in 2025.
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In 309 games over the past four seasons, Refsnyder hit .276 with 27 homers, 119 RBIs, 48 doubles and an .804 OPS while serving as one of the best hitters in baseball against left-handed pitching. In 2025, he posted a .302 average, .560 slugging percentage and .959 OPS against southpaws, pairing with Romy Gonzalez to form a potent pair of right-handed platoon options for Alex Cora. Refsnyder’s .596 slugging percentage against left-handed starters was the fourth-best mark in baseball. Since the start of 2021, Refsnyder ranks third in the majors in on-base percentage against lefties (.405) among players with 300 plate appearances.
Refsnyder expressed strong interest in returning to the Red Sox in 2026 but in recent weeks, the writing has been on the wall for his departure. There aren’t many at-bats to go around in Boston’s crowded outfield/designated hitter picture and recent comments from manager Alex Cora made it harder to see Refsnyder returning in his role. Specifically, the club wants Wilyer Abreu — a platoon player to this point in his career — to get regular starts against lefties in right field, a position where Refsnyder logged 21 starts in 2025. Cora also praised the athleticism of Nate Eaton, who may take over Refsnyder’s role as a versatile, younger and cheaper version in 2026. Eaton had a .673 OPS against lefties in 49 big league plate appearances last year but the Red Sox think there’s more in his right-handed bat. Kristian Campbell is expected to focus on outfield work in spring training, too, further crowding a group that includes Abreu, Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Jarren Duran and potentially Eaton and others.
The Mariners will be Refsnyder’s seventh major league team, joining the Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays and Twins. He had previously signed two deals to remain in Boston, agreeing to avoid arbitration at $1.2 million for 2023, then signing a $1.85 million extension for the 2024 season that included a $2 million option for 2025.
One autumn evening in 2020, the late poet Louise Glück walked into the snug dining room of the Somerville Peruvian restaurant Celeste. Glück found her usual table — the one between the two air conditioning vents — and greeted her usual server, Gonzalo, who waited on her every time she stopped in for ceviche de pescado and an IPA. But this evening was different from the others.
Glück had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature the day before and, amid a wave of public attention, craved the normalcy of enjoying a meal at one of her favorite restaurants. Ahead of Glück’s standing reservation, Celeste’s founders Maria Rondeau and chef JuanMa Calderon had filled the dining room with friends to ensure the new Nobel Laureate could dine in peace. A tabletop bouquet was the only memento marking her achievement.
“All she wanted was to be at Celeste and not think about anything else,” said Rondeau. “At the same time, we were nervous. We’d waited on the same lady every day, but now she was something else. It was a moment of joyous togetherness.”
Glück’s connection to Celeste is uniquely intense — so intense, in fact, that Rondeau and Calderon’s new restaurant opening in Back Bay, Rosa y Marigold, shares a name with Glück’s last published work. It’s also a particularly profound example of how Boston writers have long found comfort, camaraderie and sometimes safety in the city’s bars, cafes and restaurants.
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From the bygone Harvard Square Spanish spot Irunåa where Robert Lowell hosted post-workshop office hours to the old Ground Round off Soldiers Field Road where reporters for The Boston Globe, Boston Magazine and the Boston Phoenix grabbed drinks after media-league softball games, local eateries have literally and figuratively fueled generations of Boston academics, journalists, novelists and poets. So, we asked some of these writers to tell us where they typically go for a coffee, a meal, a conversation, or a moment of peace.
Zarlasht Niaz, novelist
Zarlasht Niaz, author of novel-in-verse “Unfurling,” at the Newsfeed Cafe at the Boston Public Library. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Zarlasht Niaz recently came to Boston from Minneapolis to begin her tenure as the Boston Public Library’s 2025-26 writer-in-residence. The Afghan American writer is managing an online literary journal that centers writing from and about Afghanistan while working on her debut novel-in-verse. Despite her newcomer status, she has already found some gastronomic staples.
Niaz regularly stops into BPL’s Newsfeed Café for arepas from the Somerville-based Venezuelan catering company Carolicious; lattes from a talented, unnamed barista — “When that person’s working, I get really excited,” said Niaz — and live public radio programming from the other NPR affiliate in town.
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She also frequents Anoush’ella’s South Boston location, whose Eastern Mediterranean flavors call to mind home food. “They have these salads with a lot of different herbs and they remind me of the salads I grew up eating,” said Niaz. Turmeric House in Braintree hits similarly. “A perfect cup of chai. A perfect kebab. Yeah, I can’t wait to go back.”
Stephen Greenblatt, literary historian
Author Stephen Greenblatt at Cambridge restaurant Giulia, on Massachusetts Ave. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Having devoted decades to unpacking the work of Renaissance writers, particularly William Shakespeare, it’s no wonder that the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning literary historian Stephen Greenblatt gravitates toward cuisine that could’ve conceivably appeared in “Julius Caesar.”
The Cambridge Italian staple Giulia is his undisputed go-to. “I know Italian food quite well, because we spend quite a lot of time in Rome,” said Greenblatt. “Guilia is unusually creative.” He often orders the pappardelle with wild boar topped with black trumpet mushrooms and parmigiano.
“The chef, Michael Pagliarini, is extremely talented and alert to what really good Italian food is like,” he said.
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Greenblatt also ventures to the eastern edges of the Mediterranean basin when visiting Oleana (which recently received a Michelin Guide recommendation), but his dessert of choice there is decidedly American. “I like Oleana quite a lot, particularly for the wonderful baked Alaska, which is, I think, one of the great desserts that one can get,” said Greenblatt.
Golden, poet and photographer
Golden moved to Boston in 2018 following a celebrated poetry slam guest performance at Haley House in Roxbury and quickly became a fixture within the local literary scene. In the time since, the Black, gender-nonconforming trans writer and photographer has turned out two collections of poetry and images, served as Boston’s 2020-21 artist in residence, and earned a handful of high-profile fellowships. Golden is now relocating to their home state of Virginia to pursue an MFA, but they depart with close community ties, including connections to a couple of keystone Jamaica Plain restaurants.
Galway House, on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain, Boston. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
“When I first moved to Boston, I lived on Centre Street by Jackson Square and we would always go to Galway House,” said Golden. “They have affordable, consistent food and a lot of community members I know love going there.”
The Haven, one of the Boston area’s only Scottish spots, is another JP essential for Golden. “I love the Haven Burger — it’s one of my favorites. And I love a good French fry and you can’t go wrong with that there,” Golden said. “I love filling food and food that you can enjoy with friends. That’s where my brain goes when I’m deciding where to eat.”
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Laura Zigman, novelist
The fiction of Laura Zigman often hinges on the heightened emotionalism that comes with navigating life’s highs and lows, beginning with her debut 1997 novel “Animal Husbandry,” which was optioned and became the basis for a romantic comedy starring Ashley Judd and a young Hugh Jackman. But when it comes to going out for a drink or something to eat, Zigman looks to avoid drama at all costs.
Bar Enza, located in the Charles Hotel near Harvard Square, is her ideal venue for meeting friends. “They have really nice wine and cocktails, even though I really don’t drink anymore,” Zigman said. “When you come in for a drink, they’ll give you a velvet banquette that’s beautiful where you can talk and actually hear each other and I just love it.”
The entrance to George Howell Coffee and Lovestruck Books, in Cambridge, Mass. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
For coffee, Zigman prefers George Howell Coffee nestled inside the nearby Lovestruck Books. The location itself is freighted with Cambridge cafe history, standing not far from where Howell’s original Coffee Connection once operated between 1975 and 1996 before Starbucks acquired and rebranded it and its 18 local sister stores.
“Coffee Connection was one of those places that I just lived in when I was a teenager,” said Zigman. “They had French roast, French presses, and big barrels of coffee beans with burlap covers. The new George Howell inside Lovestruck is great — it’s cozy, smells like coffee, and it’s pink and red inside.”
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Paul Tremblay, novelist
Author Paul Tremblay, by the Hamilton Restaurant and Bar, near Coolidge Corner in Brookline, Mass. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Brookline Booksmith near Coolidge Corner is a key location for the multi-time Bram Stoker Award-winning horror novelist Paul Tremblay. He visited the shop for the first time early in his writing career to attend a Stewart O’Nan reading and, in the years since, has gone back numerous times to do readings of his own and participate in author events.
Virtually every trip Tremblay makes to Brookline Booksmith goes hand-in-hand with a stop at Hamilton Restaurant and Bar, whose distinctive red awning with a silhouette of its namesake Founding Father casts a shadow on Beacon Street less than a block away.
“Invariably, before the event starts, usually at 7 p.m., all the writers involved and sometimes their family too will meet at Hamilton,” said Tremblay. “It’s such a relaxed vibe — a pub-style place with friendly staff, good food and drink, and, when the weather is warm, a nice outdoor space.”
When Tremblay is nearer to home in the Greater Boston suburbs, he regularly visits Northern Spy, a Canton-based restaurant from the owners of Loyal Nine that serves New England cuisine and operates out of Paul Revere’s historic Rolling Copper Mill.
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“It’s a newer restaurant and it’s got a beautiful interior,” he said. “For people who dare trek outside of Boston and want to meet, it’s a go-to place.”
Megan Marshall, biographer
Biographer Megan Marshall looks across Belmont Street from the window of Praliné French Patisserie’s location in Belmont, Mass. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Megan Marshall arrived in the Boston area in 1973 and has since seen slews of writer-saturated restaurants come and go. She remembers meeting the eminent editor Justin Kaplan at the long-defunct Harvard Square fondue place, Swiss Alps, to get guidance on her biography of Elizabeth, Mary and Sophia Peabody, which eventually earned her the Pulitzer Prize. And she recalls grabbing coffee and cinnamon toast from a drugstore with an old-fashioned soda fountain that once stood on Boylston Street in between research sessions at the Massachusetts Historical Society.
These days, Marshall often finds herself at the Cambridge French patisserie Praliné. “They’re such lovely people there and they speak French, which makes me feel cosmopolitan and their croissants are, I think, the best in the Boston area,” said Marshall.
She also enjoys Praliné’s imported French loose-leaf tea, Mariage Frères. “I get little boxes of it to give as presents. People I know who have spent time in Paris say, ‘Oh, you must be just back from Paris,’ because there’s this impression that you can only get Mariage Frères there,” she said. “But you can get it at Praliné and impress anybody you know who’s Parisian.”
