The Boston Celtics hosted the Indiana Pacers Friday, 27th of December, the first of two matchups in TD Garden, Boston. For Coach Rick Carlisle and the Indiana Pacers, they come into Boston managing five injuries with Isaiah Jackson, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Obi Toppin who were all ruled unavailable prior to tip-off. Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) and Jrue Holiday (shoulder) have both been ruled out for Boston. Holiday’s unavailability saw Sam Hauser slotted into the starting lineup for the C’s. Hauser’s starting nod is noteworthy, as he has been in and out of the lineup with his own back injuries and struggling with form, going scoreless in 3 out of his last 4 games.
Jayson Tatum started the game strong, physically taking it to Bennedict Mathurin for the strong and-1 post finish. Mathurin got going early for Indy, pacing his team with 2 of his team’s first 4 buckets. Jaylen Brown was perfect to start the game in this one, as he went three for three, with a pair of triples. Derrick White also got in on the action as Indy sagged off him to hit on his second bucket and his second three-pointer as Boston took an early 24-13 lead.
Boston continued to pile on points behind a crossover step back long Jaylen Brown two and then a Jordan Walsh three, as Boston stretched the early lead out to 12 points. Brown continued to excel with another three-pointer and a steal and breakaway two-handed dunk to register his fifteenth first quarter point on a perfect 6/6 from the field. The Indiana Pacers came into this game on the second night of a back-to-back, and it showed early as Boston was the hungrier team and getting to the loose balls first. The Celtics led 39-22 after the first quarter.
Boston started the second quarter very slowly, going scoreless for the first 3 minutes and turning the ball over multiple times. Luckily for the Celtics, Indy wasn’t much better, with just one three-point made basket in that stretch. The crowd well and truly woke up at the 6-minute mark of the game as JB drove past two perimeter defenders and dropped the hammer on top of an outstretched Myles Turner. Brown, not to be outdone, then stole the ball again at midcourt, leading to a dunk competition-worthy windmill jam with no Pacer player within fifty feet of the the basket.
Jayson Tatum would then return to the game after a nice break to hit his first shot, a corner three-pointer. Al Horford, then added his own triple as Boston registered a 20-point first-half lead at the 2-minute, 30-second mark. The first half would end 67-42 with Boston in complete control, spearheaded by Jayson Tatum (10 pts, 10 boards) and Jaylen Brown (23 points, 3/5 from three).
Following the Christmas Day disaster, Al Horford cited “inconsistent effort” postgame after the brutal loss to conference rival Philadelphia 76ers. Boston was looking to get back into form before facing a 4-game west coast road trip in early January. The third quarter proved to be just the test, as Boston continued to exploit Indiana’s lack of perimeter size and picking the Pacers apart with crisp passing and good pace en route to a massive 31-point lead with 5 minutes remaining in the third.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25807644/usa_today_25070220.jpg)
Indiana came into Boston playing 4 games over 6 nights, and the fatigue was starting to show late in the third quarter with Indy a step slow, Boston would reach the penalty bonus with 4 and a half minutes to go in the quarter. To Indiana’s credit, they did not let the lead creep out more as the quarter would end 103-78, Boston up 25 points.
JB logged his fortieth point of the game, his highest score of the season, with a mind-blowing eleven minutes left in the game. Eventually Joe Mazzulla would substitute out Brown to a standing ovation and a 44-point night, shooting a stellar 66% split from the field with 6-11 from three. Rick Carlisle would go to his deep bench around the 8-minute mark, giving his younger guys a test against Boston. Payton Pritchard would add 18 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds; Jayson Tatum had a double-double night with 22 points and 13 rebounds; Al Horford chipped in 13 points, whilst Derrick White added 9 points and 6 assists.
Drew Peterson, Jordan Walsh and Jaden Springer all saw significant garbage minute time for Boston to finish off the game. The Celtics, who now sit just a few games ahead of the 3rd placed New York Knicks in the Eastern conference needed a comfortable win and they got this tonight behind a well-rounded team performance. Boston will next face these Pacers once more at home on Sunday, 29th of December at 6pm.
