BSJ Game Report: Boston Celtics 101, Indiana Pacers 98 (OT) - Celtics grind out ugly win in overtime

Everything you need to know about the Boston Celtics' overtime win over the Indiana Pacers with BSJ insight and analysis.

IN A NUTSHELL

This game was gross. There was no flow at all. The Celtics didn’t move the ball much and neither team was hitting. The Pacers got it going in the 4th quarter and outscored the Celtics by 10 until a late Jayson Tatum jumper forced overtime. The Celtics took control early in the OT behind Jaylen Brown and held on to win.  

Box Score

HEADLINES

Turnovers again a problem: Boston turned it over 20 times, handing the Pacers 18 points. 

“We talked about it today, improving in that area,” Ime Udoka said. “And then to kind of be loose with the ball is something that is an area we need to clean up. Guys take ownership for that and we'll continue to stay on them. But like I said, I'm looking at the positives tonight of gutting one out when it's gone the other way several times this year.”

True. And if we’re mining for positives, there were no turnovers in the overtime. 

Too many minutes for the main guys: Tatum played 42 minutes. Jaylen Brown played nearly 44. Tatum is fifth in the league in total minutes played and minutes per game. Jaylen Brown’s injuries tamped down his total minutes and a few of those minutes restriction games did the same to his per-game number, but after all that — he’s still averaging 34.8. I know these guys are young, but it does make you wonder how much fatigue plays a role in late-game issues. 

TURNING POINT 

Brown came out in the OT and hit two tough jumpers to pace the Celtics and then he fed Grant Williams in the corner for a 3-pointer to give Boston a 96-91 lead. 

TWO UP

Robert Williams: Williams consistently covered for the Celtics defensively, whether it was blocking a shot or sliding in to steal the ball. He finished with 3 blocks and 4 steals to go along with a double/double of 14 points and 12 rebounds. 

Jaylen Brown: He played 17 straight minutes to close the game and hit those two key jumpers to start the overtime. He finished with 26 points, 15 rebounds and 6 assists, and most importantly, no turnovers. He certainly wasn’t perfect in this game (he shot 11-26, but 3-6 from 3) and his defensive lapses, especially in transition, threatened to derail what was another big night.

TWO DOWN

Dennis Schröder: Could we be seeing the beginnings of Schröder falling out of favor? Not only did we again see no overlapping minutes with Marcus Smart (though, to be fair, Smart got hurt and left the game in the third so we don’t know how it would have went later), we didn’t see him on the floor down the stretch even though Boston was without a point guard.

“I felt Grant (Williams) was defending well,” Udoka said. “We went away from our double-big lineup even though they were playing bigs a lot, Grant can do both. And then we wanted more size overall so we had J-Rich out there instead of Dennis for defensive purposes and I think with him, Jaylen, Jayson, that length served us well toward the end.”

Jayson Tatum: He didn’t have it shooting-wise (7-21 overall, 0-7 3pt) and he turned the ball over 8 times. Just a brutal night handling the ball for him. He did, however, get to the line. 

TOP PLAYS

THREE TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

The Celtics are feeling a little desperate for wins: We’ve reached desert-level thirst for wins in Boston, so the Celtics are going to take them wherever they can. 

“It wasn’t the prettiest, but they fought through it and showed that perseverance,” Udoka said. “Ran a little bit longer, but we knew the importance of getting this game. Rest up tomorrow and get back to it the next game.”

The Celtics have gone through some horrible losses. The green-tinted spin on a game like this is that they figured out how to hold on instead of sinking further into the abyss. 

“Yeah, it felt great. I feel like that one would’ve hurt had we lost,” Tatum said. “But throughout the course of the season, it feels good to figure games out like that when we’re not shooting the ball, I had all those turnovers, but just figuring it out and cleaning stuff up later. But most important, we were just telling ourselves, just find a way to win this game.”

At some point, this became a must-win -- or maybe more accurately, a must-not-lose. Lump this into the compost heap with the win over the Knicks. 

On the one hand - sure, wins are wins and they need wins. On the other - it would be nice to see some carryover from game to game. I don't know where the ball movement went in this game. 

Now is the time to change Al Horford’s role: Horford only played 23 minutes against the Pacers, a team with two bigs that should invite the Celtics double-big lineups. Instead, Udoka went with Grant Williams down the stretch. 

Considering the shift in attitude towards Schröder, this downturn in Horford’s performance is a great chance to make the obvious pairing and put the former Hawks teammates together on the bench. This will give Schröder a player he truly trusts with him, which might actually encourage some more passing. Part of why Schroder sat down the stretch was that he was taking his isolation to an extreme. 

Horford is still incredibly valuable, and he’ll still play a major role, but it’s time for a shift.

Marcus Smart is very important: This game was ugly and gross but Smart was in control of it when he was on the floor. It should be no surprise that when he was forced out with the thigh contusion and Schröder started pulling his shenanigans that this game turned and the Pacers got comfortable. 

I'll keep screaming this from the rooftops. Smart can be your starting point guard and you'll be fine.