The Indiana Pacers defeated the Boston Celtics 123-114 in the second game of a two-game series. Tyrese Haliburton and Jaylen Brown each led their teams with 31 points. The Celtics played without Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis again, and it was one of their worst defensive performances of the season. Meanwhile, the Pacers were missing Obi Toppin and Aaron Nesmith. This was the third and final time these teams played this season, with Indiana winning the season series 2-1. The Pacers improved to 16-17 and the Boston Celtics dropped to 23-9.
The Indiana Pacers Started Hot
After their blowout loss to the Boston Celtics, the Pacers entered this game motivated. They jumped out to a 6-0 lead, quickly becoming 12-5. Tyrese Haliburton got rolling early and Andrew Nembhard made an impact in his return to the lineup.
The Indiana lead grew to double digits as they opened the game shooting 10-of-13. Boston cut into the lead off a few buckets from Jaylen Brown when their perimeter shooting struggled. They eventually took the lead with three-pointers from Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard. Both teams went back and forth from there, and at the end of the first quarter, the Boston Celtics led 29-27. Brown led the way with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
After a rare scoreless first quarter, Jayson Tatum continued to struggle, and the Pacers took the lead. Back-to-back three-pointers extended Indiana’s lead, but the Boston Celtics kept it close. Brown remained their biggest offensive threat and continued to score. Pritchard also hit back-to-back three-pointers, and Jarace Walker returned the favor for the Pacers. A Nembhard and-one put Indiana up nine, and their lead soon went back to double digits. At halftime, the Indiana Pacers led 65-58.
The Pacers scored 38 points in the second quarter and shot 58%. They were shooting very efficiently and racked up the points with their fast pace. Nembhard scored 14 points, while Haliburton had 13. Walker had 12 points off the bench and Siakam had 10. For the Boston Celtics, Brown and Pritchard had big first halves, but the rest of the team struggled to contain Indiana’s scoring. Brown had 18 points and Pritchard had 19 off the bench, shooting 5-of-6 from three. Tatum had a rough half with 5 points on 1-of-8 shooting.
The Boston Celtics Lose At Home
The defensive struggles continued for the Boston Celtics in the third quarter. They lacked effort, giving up open shots and touches in the paint. The Celtics were still scoring, but the defensive laziness made it easy for the Pacers to maintain their lead. Haliburton got to the basket with ease and Siakam and Turner scored in the paint without resistance. Indiana’s lead remained intact despite the scoring of Brown and Derrick White. The Pacers went back up by double digits attacking the paint and getting to the free throw line. Through three quarters, the Boston Celtics trailed 98-91.
Indiana held onto their lead in the fourth quarter, going back up by double digits. The Boston Celtics stayed competitive offensively, with a Brown and-one and an Al Horford three-pointer. Then, a Tatum and-one suddenly made it a two-point game on a 9-0 Celtics run. Indiana responded though with a 15-0 run that put the game out of reach. On this run, Boston went four minutes without scoring, and it killed them. With two minutes to go, the Celtics put in their bench unit, surrendering another worst loss of the season. The Indiana Pacers won 123-114.
Final Thoughts
The Indiana Pacers improved to 16-17 with the win. Tyrese Haliburton took advantage of a poor Celtics defense scoring 31 points on 11-of-19 shooting. Andrew Nembhard and Pascal Siakam each scored 17 points. They have improved after a shaky start to the season, winning six out of their last eight games.
Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics dropped to 23-9 with the loss. Jaylen Brown scored 31 points and Tatum finished with 22 after a poor first half. The reason for this loss was a complete lack of effort on defense. The Pacers scored 66 points in the paint with little resistance. The Celtics have now lost four out of their last six. They need to realize they can’t just coast to the one-seed this season.
