Everything you need to know about the Celtics' 117-97 win over the Pacers with BSJ insight and analysis
HEADLINES
Gordon Hayward and Jayson Tatum star in convincing win: Gordon Hayward (21 points) scored 20-plus points for the third straight game while making all nine of his field goal attempts, helping the Celtics turn a tight opening 15 minutes against the Pacers into a drubbing with a 117-97 victory. Jayson Tatum (22 points) led six different Celtics in double figures as Boston changed the game by outscoring the Pacers by a 67-47 margin in the middle two quarters, which turned the fourth quarter into garbage time. The big win allowed Brad Stevens to rest Kyrie Irving and Al Horford for the final 15 minutes of the game and overcome the absence of Jaylen Brown (sore back). Terry Rozier also left the game due to illness in the first half but Brad Wanamaker (nine points) filled in admirably in his place.
Taking control of No. 4 seed: The victory reduces the magic number for the C's to clinch the No. 4 seed down to one. Just one more win or Pacers loss in the final two games will seal the No. 4 seed. Two more wins and a couple of Sixers losses over the next week would also open the door for the No. 3 seed for the Green, even though that is a long shot with Philly’s remaining schedule (two games against the Bulls). Boston heads back to the Garden next to host a Magic team fighting for their playoff lives, but are well positioned to get some extra rest for their veterans on Tuesday night against the Wizards.
TURNING POINT
The Celtics closed out the second quarter on a 23-11 run, capped off by a buzzer beater by Hayward to close out the half. The outburst turned a one-point game into a double-digit lead for Boston, which sparked some momentum that carried over to the second half.
TWO UP
Jayson Tatum: The 21-year-old showed some tremendous aggression inside the paint, attacking the Pacers weak links on defense (Bogdanovic, McDermott) to score a team-high 22 points on 9-of-19 shooting. He also pitched in well with his defense, tallying a game-high three steals.
Hayward: Gordon Hayward scored 21 points on perfect 9-of-9 shooting, marking the first Celtics player to score 20+ points on 100 percent shooting since Kevin McHale (25 pts) on March 2, 1986. It was also the first time he shot 100 percent from the field in his career when scoring 15 points.
TWO DOWN
Marcus Smart 3-point shooting: An off night for the point guard from beyond the arc, as he misfired on five of his six 3-point attempts. He went 1-of-7 on the night and wisely deferred to Tatum and Hayward for most of the second half.
First half defensive rebounding: The Pacers piled up eight offensive rebounds in the first 15 minutes of the game and the Celtics dodged plenty of bullets with Indy bigs blowing wide open putbacks. The Celtics cleaned things up on this front in the second half but they may not be as lucky next time around if they don’t start from the opening tip with a consistent effort down low.
TOP PLAY
NO MERCY pic.twitter.com/wEC396OdFe
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 6, 2019
TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
The new Celtics starting five is here to stay: Brad Stevens said it would be a night-by-night consideration a couple of weeks ago when it comes to the starting five but the Baynes/Horford frontline improved to 5-0 when healthy since the switch was made in Cleveland. Baynes has eased the physical burden on Horford, who is playing some of his best basketball all year, while Hayward has found his rhythm off the bench as the featured part of the second unit. With everyone in the starting five finding their role and the Pacers having an ideal front line to use Baynes against, it’s hard to see Stevens going away from this group into he falls behind in a postseason series.
I’m fascinated to see how Jaylen Brown will fit into this mix when he’s back: Without the swingman in the lineup for the last couple of games, Stevens has leaned much more on Tatum and Hayward in large periods from a minutes and playmaking standpoint, with great success. It’s hard to imagine Brown taking any minutes from either of them when he’s back so it’s likely going to be Marcus Morris and Terry Rozier who see the bench more, based on the matchup on any given night. A key part of the rhythm this group has found in the past couple of games right now is getting the ball to the right guys to operate in space. That needs to continue when Brown returns. There aren’t going to be enough opportunities to go around for everyone and whoever accepts that the most among Brown/Rozier/Morris probably gets the most court time once the postseason hits. The odds on favorite here is Brown given his improved play over the last few months.
