Celtics force overtime but fall short in ECF rematch against Pacers losing 135-132
On Wednesday night in Indiana we get our first Eastern Conference Finals rematch of the season with the defending NBA Champion Celtics taking on the Pacers. Boston took care of Indiana in 4 games in the Spring but many felt it was the toughest test the Celtics faced all playoffs as they pushed them in every game. Indiana added James Wiseman over the offseason but he’s already out for the year after an Achilles injury and Myles Turner was ruled out before tipoff so Indiana would be a little short handed heading into this one. Boston on the other hand would continue to be without Kristaps Porzingis but they would be getting a lift from their bench. With Sam Hauser being available for the first time in 3 games after missing time with a lower back injury.
Boston has started the season on fire winning their first 4 games of the year in convincing fashion with the exception of a small hiccup in Detroit. While Indiana has gotten off to a more sluggish start at 1-3 with their only win of the season coming in their first game against Detroit. This will be a big test for the Pacers at home trying to steady their season early on against the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year.
First Quarter:
Both teams would come out of the gate a little slow but trading blows early on. Jaylen Brown and Al Horford accounted for Boston’s first 13 points but they’d find themselves trailing 16-13 at the 7 minute mark of the first. Indiana was getting a lift from Siakam with 6 points and Isaiah Jackson filling in for Myles Turner added 6 of his own early.
Small concern for Celtics fans as Jayson Tatum took a shot to the face but seemed okay after getting looked at during the first timeout. The sloppy play would continue for both sides but Indiana would start to increase their lead as the quarter went on going up by 7 after an Obi Toppin 3 pointer made it 24-17 with 4 minutes to go in the first.
Tatum would hit a 3 pointer then Derrick White would hit a buzzer beater at the end of the first to make it 35-31 Pacers after the first. Boston struggled to find it’s rhythm the entire quarter and was probably lucky to be down only 4.
Second Quarter:
Indiana would once again try to expand their lead going on a 5-0 run to start the quarter taking a 40-31 advantage a minute into the second quarter. Indiana was shooting 61% in the first half to this point a staggering number for a Boston team that’s played pretty good defense this season. Every time it looked like Indiana was going to separate themselves the Celtics would answer, this time it was the October super star Payton Pritchard hitting back to back 3’s to make it 44-42 Pacers with 8:17 left in the half.
Indiana would take it’s first double digit lead of the night on a Pascal Siakam 3 pointer with 4:48 to go in the half making it 58-47. Boston just couldn’t find it’s shot in the first half shooting 36% from the field and 35% from beyond the arc.
The Pacers continued to hold a near double digit lead for most of the quarter. Boston would go on a quick 5-0 run around the 2 minute mark to make it an 8 point game 62-54 with 1:10 to go. Former Celtic Aaron Nesmith would answer the run with a 3 pointer to get the Pacers lead immediate back over 10. However it was a half of runs as Tatum immediately answered with a 3 of his own to get it back to 8. The first half would come to an end with Indiana leading by 10 after Boston tried to close the gap but failed to do so it was 67-57 Pacers after the first half.
Third Quarter:
The 3rd quarter would start with more of the same for Boston, being disjointed on defense but still scoring enough to keep the game within striking distance. Pascal Siakam was the Celtics biggest problem racking up 23 points on 9/15 shooting with 8:31 left in the third. Indiana lead 79-68 to this point and Boston was looking for someone to break out offensively.
Benedict Mathurin would get a 3 point play to give Boston their largest deficit of the early season 84-68 with 7:49 left in the third. Things would go from bad to worse for the Celtics with Haliburton hitting a 3 to give Indiana a 19 point lead.
Boston just couldn’t find their rhythm at all offensively whether it was Tatum, Brown, White it didn’t matter they couldn’t hit a shot in the third. Mathurin’s hot shooting would continue adding another 3 pointer to give Indiana a 90-68 lead forcing Mazzulla to call a timeout with 6:31 to go in the third.
The Celtics were wandering into unfamiliar territory trailing by 20+ for most of the quarter. Something they only did four times all of last season. Jayson Tatum was trying everything he could to close the gap at the end of the third scoring on back to back possessions to cut the Pacers lead to 16 with 1:30 left in the third. Boston looked defeated at times in the 3rd but ended the quarter strong heading into the 4th with only a 14 point deficit trailing 100-86 after a Tatum layup at the buzzer.
Fourth Quarter:
Jaylen Brown’s struggles in this game would continue in the 4th as he was 7/23 shooting for only 14 points early in the 4th quarter. While Indiana was running Boston up and down the floor and exploiting their weak defensive effort. The Pacers got their lead up to 107-91 with 9:42 to go in the 4th and Boston starting to get desperate to close the gap.
Things would go from bad to worse for Boston as the quarter went on Indiana would go on a 10-5 run to extend the lead to 112-91 forcing Joe Mazzulla to call a timeout. Many thought this would be Mazzulla pulling his starters but Jaylen Brown was back in and Boston would go on an immediate 7-0 run to cut the Pacers lead back down to 16 with 8:13 to go giving Boston a small glimpse of hope in the game.
Boston would continue to try and chip away at the Pacers lead but every time they did Indiana would answer with a big basket of their own. On the back of Jaylen Brown, Boston would cut the Pacers lead to 11 with just over 4 minutes to go in the game but was it too little too late? Indiana’s double digit lead would be cut to 9 after a Derrick White 3 pointer with 2:00 left in the game.
The Pacers unraveling would continue in the final two minutes with a bad offensive foul leading to easy points for Jayson Tatum to make it a 5 point game 122-117 with 1:28 to go. Another mistake by Indiana made it even closer when Jaylen Brown would force another turnover and get an easy layup making it 122-119 1:04 to go.
The Celtics defense who struggled all night showed up mightily in the 4th quarter forcing another Indiana miss leading to more free throws for Jayson Tatum closing the gap to 122-121. Then it was chaos Haliburton would hit a shot to make it 124-121 but Jayson Tatum would show up again hitting a massive 3 pointer to tie the game 124-124 sending it into overtime. A true masterclass in how to blow a game for the Pacers but the Celtics deserve credit for hanging around all night and taking advantage of their opportunities.
Overtime:
Indiana would open the scoring in overtime hitting a 3 pointer taking the early lead but Boston showed it’s resiliency all night. The Pacers 3 pointer was the only basket through the first two minutes of overtime until Derrick White answered with one of his own to tie it up with just under 3 minutes to go in the game.
Siakam would go 1/2 from the line to give Indiana a 128-127 lead with just over two minutes to go. Tatum would answer going 1/2 from the line himself to tie the game up again. Mathurin who was good all night would score to make it 130-128, Boston would try to answer but miss a couple times on the other end but after a pair of offensive rebounds Payton Pritchard would get a pair of free throws to try and tie it up again. Pritchard would hit both and Indiana would miss it’s next shot giving the Celtics a chance to take the lead finally.
Boston would take advantage with Derrick White hitting a running layup that was ruled a goaltend to give Boston it’s first lead since what felt like the first quarter. The Celtics would get the ball back with :36 seconds left but a Tatum miss would give Indiana the ball back with a chance to take the lead. Siakam was the man all night for Indiana and he was again late hitting a 3 pointer to give the Pacers a 135-132 lead with 6 seconds left. Boston would get a clean look to tie with Jaylen Brown getting a 3 point look but he would miss badly and Indiana would go on to win 135-132.
This was an ugly one through 3 quarters but it turned into a valiant effort from the Celtics in a game they looked beaten most of the night. They somehow stayed resilient and battled to get it close but it was too little too late. Their defense just didn’t keep them close enough in regulation to take care of business. Boston will get back in action on Friday night against the Hornets looking to get back in the win column.