BOSTON — The Celtics hosted the Indiana Pacers for the primary time since their Jap Convention finals duel, contemporary off two straight losses, a 5-5 chilly stretch, and with out starters Jrue Vacation and Kristaps Porzingis.
Not the perfect state of affairs when seeking to keep away from three consecutive defeats.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, alternatively, welcomed the problem. Mazzulla harassed normalizing the inevitable and inherent challenges of an 82-game common season and claimed he was “excited” heading into the Boston-Indiana conflict. Mazzulla’s pleasure unfold throughout the Celtics locker room and spilled out on the ground shortly.
Boston turned its red-hot 39-point first quarter right into a 67-point first half and maintained the momentum to get the Celtics proper again within the win column with an improved 23-8 document on the marketing campaign.
Listed here are three studs and three duds from Boston’s 142-105 Gino Time win over Indiana:
Story continues beneath commercial
STUDS
Jaylen Brown
The Celtics had been in dire want of a response and Brown acquired began moderately shortly and delivered 15 factors on an ideal 6-of-6 capturing from the ground within the first quarter. Brown’s scoring motor by no means took a breather because the 28-year-old continued to punish Indiana’s protection all through the night time, ending with a season-high 44 factors on 16-of-24 capturing whereas pulling down six 3-pointers, grabbing 5 rebounds and allotting three assists.
Mazzzulla pulled Brown with 8:23 minutes left within the fourth quarter, giving the three-time All-Star a well-earned early clock-out.
Jayson Tatum
Tatum’s 10 factors and 10 rebounds secured the five-time All-Star’s sixteenth double-double by halftime and solidified Boston’s ball motion and rim safety. Tatum adopted Brown’s lead, scoring 22 factors whereas amassing a game-high 13 rebounds.
The 26-year-old additionally earned an early exit and sat out everything of the fourth quarter.
Story continues beneath commercial
Payton Pritchard
Boston’s sixth man, too, was in a latest chilly skit of his personal however Pritchard shook it off by getting concerned on each ends of the ground. Pritchard pitched in flirting with a triple-double by scoring a bench-leading 16 factors alongside eight rebounds and 10 assists, draining 4 from past the arc whereas additionally recording a block and a steal.
DUDS
Tyrese Haliburton
The Pacers weren’t in a position to flip to their franchise star as Haliburton struggled to seek out his groove. He completed with 19 factors on 6-of-13 capturing, went 3-for-8 from three, tallied 9 assists and registered a minus-27 ranking, the worst of anybody on the ground. Haliburton’s scoring whole made him Indiana’s chief in that division nevertheless it additionally spoke volumes of the group’s inefficient efficiency on that finish of the ground.
Indiana’s 3-point capturing
It’s arduous to compete with a few of the league’s finest when the three-ball isn’t falling.
Indiana discovered the arduous approach because the group was out-performed from 3-point vary, going 11-for-39 (28.2%) to Boston’s 23-for-57 (40.4%) exhibiting. The Pacers had loads of high quality openings from deep however did not money in time after time once more, maintaining their scoreboard stagnant and enjoying proper into the Celtics’ momentum.
Story continues beneath commercial
Myles Turner
Indiana’s front-court drive wasn’t on from the bounce and nothing modified.
Turner completed with a modest eight factors in 23 minutes, capturing 3-of-7 from the sector with 5 rebounds, zero blocks and a game-high three turnovers. The 28-year-old, usually leaned on for shot-blocking and rebounding, gave the Pacers little to nothing on that entrance and Indiana paid the last word worth.
