Kemba Walker (season-high 44 points) looked unstoppable for the better part of 48 minutes on Wednesday night but it wasn't enough for a Celtics team that did not bring it on the defensive end for most of the night. The visitors blew a 10-point fourth quarter lead and were outscored 38-23 in the final frame as the Pacers rallied for a 122-117 victory at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The shorthanded C's were playing without Marcus Smart and then lost Gordon Hayward in the fourth quarter to a possible concussion after the swingman took a shot to his nose. With Daniel Theis and Jaylen Brown both fouling out, the C's were short on reliable bodies late as Malcolm Brogdon (29 points) led a balanced Pacers scoring attack that featured six players scoring in double figures.
Boston sees their four-game winning streak snapped and faces another test on Thursday night at the Garden against a rested Sixers team.
First Half Notes
TWO UP
Kemba Walker: The All-Star put together his best half of the season against a tough Pacers defense, posting 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 from 3-point range. He was also the only Celtic who made more than one trip to the free-throw line (4-of-5 FT) while dishing out a team-high five assists over 17 minutes.
Jaylen Brown’s passing: The swingman helped the starters get off to a sensational start with their ball movement, matching his career-high of five assists in the first nine minutes of the game.
TWO DOWN
Celtics’ fouling: The Pacers tripled the Celtics up in free throw attempts in the first half (21-7) thanks to a barrage of C’s fouls over the first 24 minutes, including 10 in the second quarter alone. Boston’s bigs faced some tough whistles (Theis in particular) but ill-advised fouls in transition, while the team was in the penalty, contributed to easy points for the Pacers.
Brad Wanamaker: The reserve guard got a little too aggressive at times in the first half, missing four of his six field-goal attempts while getting swallowed up by the Pacers bigs down low.
TOP PLAY
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 12, 2019
PG: Kemba Walker
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Gordon Hayward
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Daniel Theis
- Marcus Smart will sit out his second straight game with an eye infection. Brad Stevens told reporters in Indiana that his vision is still a little blurry but he doesn't expect him to be out for long. Rob Williams (sore hip) did not travel and will miss his second straight game. His absence could be a longer one, according to the head coach.
- Romeo Langford was cleared to play by team doctors and will be in uniform as he returns to his home state. Tacko Fall remains with the team in Indiana as he rehabs from his bruised knee.
- The Celtics are 7-5 on the road this season but will be going for their first road win of the year over a .500 opponent after going 0-3 in those matchups so far this year.
- Brad Stevens on the challenges the Pacers present: "The double bigs are hard, Turner and Sabonis. I thought they did a great job in their offseason of adding guys that were really undervalued. When you look at Lamb, and Warren and McConnell and Holiday, those guys are all good players and they impact winning. They've added to their team quite a bit. They've got a ton of new guys, people always talk about how teams change. They've got a ton of new guys and they look the same. They play the same way, they play hard, seemingly well-coached. That's going to be a difficult one."