BSJ Game Report: Pacers 122, Celtics 112 - Haliburton dominates second half, Pacers bounce C's from tourney

Everything you need to know about the Celtics loss to the Pacers in the In-Season Tournament quarterfinals, with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics held the high-powered Pacers offense to 22 points in the first quarter, riding Jaylen Brown and Sam Hauser to an early lead. Luke Kornet had a huge impact in the second quarter at both ends as the game stayed close. Jayson Tatum helped key a late 12-0 run and Boston led by seven at the half. It was a much different story after halftime, as Boston turned it over 10 times for 14 Pacers points while only forcing two Indy turnovers for four points. Tyrese Haliburton dropped a triple-double and keyed a 9-0 run that broke a 105-all tie to seal the game. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Holy Haliburton: He’s a true superstar and he showed why in this game. He finished with 26 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds and he owned the second half. The assists were the killer, as it led to 3-pointers all over the floor for the Pacers, who were 11-22 in the second half. That triple-double came with zero turnovers, a feat accomplished only seven times prior to Haliburton (Nikola Jokic did it twice in the last week lol). 

- Three-point shooting: You can look no further than this (but we’ll look much further than this) as the big difference. Indiana was 19-40 (47.5%) and Boston was 12-41 (29.3%). They lost this battle by 21. 

- Turnovers: Boston turned it over 18 times overall for 17 Pacers points. Indy had six for 10 points. Boston’s turnovers have been a big problem, as has their lack of being able to turn other teams over. 

- Similar issues: In a game that felt important, Boston’s execution got really poor down the stretch. After it was 105-105, Brown fouled Haliburton on a 3-pointer, Hield hit a 3-pointer after springing free on an out-of-bounds play, and a Derrick White turnover turned into an Aaron Nesmith dunk. Over the course of a minute, Boston gave up a quick 9-0 run out of sheer sloppiness, which you can’t do against Indy. 

- Not the end of the world: Oh no! Boston lost! Now instead of this turning into an eight-day road trip, they get to come home, have three days off, and play the loser of Knicks/Bucks on Friday night, and then have three more days off before continuing a five game homestand. 

TURNING POINT 

The 9-0 run is the obvious one. It was tied at 105 with 1:57 to go. Then it was a nine-point lead with :44 to go. 

But I’ll go deeper and say the real turning point was in the third quarter when Boston still had a six-point lead with 8:40 to go, 63-57. Four minutes later, it was 75-71, an 18-8 stretch that changed the game. Or, if you prefer to adjust the sliders, Boston led 71-68 and then were down 83-74, a 15-3 run for Indy. Or you can total it all up and say it was 26-11. Either way, that's when the game flipped and Boston was playing catch-up after that.  

THINGS I LIKED

- Sam Hauser: He was the only Celtic with a positive plus/minus. He was +9 in the 10-point loss, mostly because his shooting changed the dynamic of this game early in the second quarter. He also held his own defensively. 

- The first half: That was some great basketball. The Jays had 12 apiece, Derrick White was great, making some amazing plays, Luke Kornet had an incredible impact on the game, and Boston had a lead even though the Pacers were hitting shots and Boston wasn’t. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- The second half: I’ve already laid out a lot of the specifics. The 14-point differential in the third quarter was Boston’s worst third quarter in a season full of bad ones so far. 

- Late execution: Again, I’m repeating myself some. The Celtics need to get into the habit of marching to their own pace late in games and not playing to whatever the opposition is doing. 

- Live ball turnovers: It’s not just that Boston is turning it over, it’s that they're giving up so many points off them. 

HIGHLIGHTS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- This is a big win for the NBA: This is sort of an extension of my take after the Bulls game, but it’s definitely worth noting. 

All the consternation in the comments, all the “here we go again” types of reactions, all the “they can’t execute when it matters” anger is all a huge win for the league. 

Even if you are not a fan of the tournament, all these reactions give the tournament more legitimacy. If sports talk radio is killing the Celtics tomorrow, that's a huge win for the league. 

Anything that props up the tournament as something important is a massive win. And no matter what you think of the tournament, that game felt important. That was a game Indiana really, really wanted. They came out and took it in an environment that felt like something big was at stake. 

What more can the NBA want on December 4? One team is celebrating like it won something meaningful. One team's fan base is pissed off because they think their team blew it in a meaningful game. There's zero chance this game has this much juice on any other December 4. 

Say whatever you want about the tournament, this thing is a hit. It's not going anywhere for a long time, and this game is at the top of the list right now of reasons why.

Next up: Boston plays the loser of tomorrow night’s Bucks/Knicks game at home Friday night.