Everything you need to know about the Pacers' 102-101 win over the Celtics in BSJ Quickie Form
Box Score
HEADLINES
Victor Oladipo steals win away from Celtics in a thriller: Two All-Star guards went toe-to-toe down the stretch in this one, as Kyrie Irving (18 points) and Victor Oladipo (team-high 24 points) traded clutch baskets in the closing two minutes. Ultimately, it was Oladipo who got the final word after hitting a pull-up transition 3 with three seconds remaining (following an Irving miss) that gave the Pacers a 102-101 lead. The veteran point guard also came up with the steal on Boston’s final chance for the win after a cold Gordon Hayward threw an ill-advised pass into the paint on an inbounds play following a timeout. Ultimately, the C’s squandered a four-point lead with 38 seconds left in this one, leaving the door open for Oladipo to close the game out with a 5-0 run.
THE GAME-WINNER! ?
Victor Oladipo scores 24 PTS with 12 REB to give the @Pacers the 102-101 victory on @NBATV! pic.twitter.com/WPv09kCN7x
— NBA (@NBA) November 4, 2018
Lack of paint presence remains a problem:
For the second straight game, the C’s bombed away from 3-point range, taking more than half of their attempts from downtown. They hit enough (41 percent) to keep pace with Indiana but a lack of attacking in the paint left them with a 25-9 deficit in free throw attempts, the biggest margin in that category of the season. Boston dropped to 0-3 on the year in games when their opponents take more free throws than them and they rank 29th in the NBA in free throw rate.
Defense comes up short late:
The Pacers scored 84 points over the final three-quarters of this contest despite playing the second half of a back-to-back against a fresh Celtics team. Boston’s league-best defense showed little resistance down the stretch as Oladipo scored seven points in the final 52 seconds of the game.
TURNING POINT
Irving had a chance to give the Celtics a two-possession lead with 11 seconds remaining after cutting backdoor for a left-handed layup. The All-Star blew the bunny under pressure from Cory Joseph, opening the door for Oladipo to attack in transition on the eventual game-winner. The C’s also went a little bit early on the play (11 seconds on game clock, five on shot clock), which gave the Pacers some extra time on their final possession to get a look they wanted.
Amazing backdoor set from Brad Stevens. Kyrie hits this, it's ballgame. pic.twitter.com/IDyUllTdwr
— Half Court Hoops (@HalfCourtHoops) November 4, 2018
TWO UP
Kyrie Irving:
Foul trouble limited him to just 12 minutes and three shot attempts in the first half, but he caught during crunch time, scoring six of his 18 points in the final 68 seconds on a couple 3s from the right wing. Irving has shot 50 percent or better now in his last three games and is a red-hot 14-of-26 (54 percent) from downtown over those contests.
KYRIE IRVING. COLD BLOODED. pic.twitter.com/5GGWMKVUEQ
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) November 4, 2018
Marcus Morris:
It’s about time to write this name in permanent ink for this section with the way Morris is knocking down shots through six games. He kept the C’s offense afloat in the first half with 14 of his team-high 23 points and he’s been shooting like Steph Curry from 3-point range for the past week, going 18-of-29 from distance over his last five games. Without his efficient offense, Boston would probably be looking at a .500 record at this point of the year.
TWO DOWN
Gordon Hayward:
It was an ugly night for his homecoming to Indiana as a Celtic on the offensive end. Hayward was one of the few starters that had been knocking down 3s lately but that trend ended on Saturday night as he went 0-of-5 from deep and just 2-of-10 from the field over 27 minutes. He sat during crunch time before the final three seconds when Stevens inserted him into the game for an inbounds play. Oladipo picked off Hayward’s pass, sealing the game for the Pacers.
Jaylen Brown:
He didn’t show any signs of a sore foot that kept him out of Thursday’s win over the Bucks but his high volume usage wasn’t what the doctored order for Boston’s offense tonight. He took a team-high 14 shots in 31 minutes and made just five of them, while dishing out zero assists. His team-low plus/minus of -12 was indicative of a struggling C’s offense when he was on the floor.
TOP PLAY
KYRIE IRVING. COLD BLOODED. pic.twitter.com/5GGWMKVUEQ
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) November 4, 2018
TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
Irving needed to play more in this game:
Brad Stevens is not a believer of sitting guys during foul trouble on most nights, yet he elected to bench his All-Star for most of the first half after picking up three fouls in 12 minutes. On a night against a tough opponent when the rest of the starting five is sputtering offensively, this was not a wise choice. Irving finished with just three fouls in 27 minutes and nearly won the C’s the game during crunch time with his terrific shooting and playmaking. In a tough road atmosphere, Stevens needed to roll the dice and give his point guard more rope with foul trouble earlier in the game, a move that could have put the visitors in a more commanding position before crunch time.
The starting lineup dynamic is worth keeping an eye on:
Another night, another subpar performance on the offensive end by the starting five in the 11 minutes they played together. Through nine games, this group has played their opponents even over 73 minutes and have an offensive rating that is nearly 10 points worse per 100 possessions than the team’s bottom-five mark in the NBA. A lot of the issues on Saturday night involved missed wide open jumpers but we are getting closer to the amount of raw data that the C’s coaching staff needs to make a decision about this group. They will get another month or so to figure things out but if we don’t see some improvement with their offensive chemistry, Stevens will have a decision to make in terms of shaking things up.