BSJ Game Report: Celtics 118, Pacers 101 - Tatum, Brown combine for 69 to hold off Indiana

Everything you need to know about the Celtics win over the Indiana Pacers, with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics came out attacking the basket and defending well, putting up 29 while holding the Pacers to their lowest single quarter of the season. The teams traded runs in the second, and Indy got the last one to head into the half down nine. They cut it to two, and after a Celtics answer, back down to three heading into the fourth. Jayson Tatum took over from there (with some help) and Boston ended up winning comfortably.

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Impressive answers: The Celtics lost Kristaps Porzingis to a scratched eye early on, and they had a few key guys in foul trouble, but once again they never gave in to the excuses. The Pacers made a bunch of runs, but none of them resulted in the Pacers taking a lead. Boston always answered back, including the final answer in the fourth.

- Defense travels: The Pacers certainly missed some open shots, but the Celtics also made life difficult on them as well. This double-block on Buddy Hield was the signature defensive play of the game. 

The defense wasn’t perfect, but there were a lot of great defensive plays and Indy was held to their lowest scoring output of the season. 

- Star power: Tatum owned the fourth with 15 points on 5-8 shooting (3-3 3pt) to carry the C’s over the finish line. Jaylen Brown owned the first and third and the pair combined for 69 points (38 for Tatum, 31 for Brown). 

- Oshae Brissett’s energy: More on him in a bit, but he was a game-changer with his energy after Porzingis went down. 

TURNING POINT

Boston opened the fourth quarter on a 16-4 run to turn a three point game into a 15 point game. Tatum scored nine of his fourth quarter points in that stretch, anchoring a lineup with him, Brissett, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and Luke Kornet.

THINGS I LIKED

- Resilience: I don’t know how many times I can highlight this, but it’s impressive to see Boston taking punches and then giving it back. 

- Al Horford: What a night from Big Al, who flirted with a triple-double (10 pts, 7 reb, 8 ast) and finished with three blocked shots and two steals. 

This play was his signature of the night:

“He's just a guy that you can always rely on,” Joe Mazzulla said. “He leads by example. His positivity is contagious and his poise is contagious. He's the best.”

- Tatum’s 3-point shooting: He’s on a tear over his past four games, shooting 20-36 (55.5%). As many of us in the business like to say, when he’s shooting like this, fuggetaboutit. Tatum was dominant in the fourth quarter, and the fact that he was hot from 3 had a lot to do with it. 

- Brown attacking the rim: He took 15 of his 20 shots in the paint, including seven at the rim. This is exactly what Boston wants Brown to do. 

- Luke Kornet, ice in his veins: First of all, the Celtics tried to pull a fast one on the officials with Sam Hauser stepping to the line to take free throws that Kornet was supposed to take. Then Kornet stepped up and drilled both, and he had some fun with the bench about it.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- The free throw shooting: Boston shot 10-19 from the line, and at one point it was below 30%. 

- Turnovers: They turned it over 18 times for 24 points. They had 12 for 20 points in the first half. 

“Whether we didn't hold the guy off enough on the seal or we didn't make a physical pass to kick out -- we hadn't played with the right intentions, we just didn't finish plays,” Mazzulla said. “They have active hands, they collapse … we just didn't execute some of those and they were able to get deflections or steals and they were able to get out in transition.”

HIGHLIGHTS

TWO KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Brissett is staking a claim to the “big wing” 

On Thursday, Brad Stevens said “I would like to continue to see how we can find another big wing or so that can help us, and I think that could be from within.” 

Since then, Brissett has gotten a couple of opportunities and he has cashed in. He had some nice energy plays against Utah in place of Horford, and once Porzingis went down with the eye abrasion, he stepped up with some big plays to hold off Indiana. 

“I love the mindset that he brings, the multiple efforts, the winning plays, the toughness, the physicality,” Mazzulla said. “Every time he's in the game, you feel his presence, and he's been playing great for us.”

He finished with five offensive rebounds and some pretty good all-around defense. Boston is going to need someone to be an X-factor in some of these upcoming games, and Brissett is making a big push to be that guy. 

Anyone being able to eat up some minutes this month or so is going to be valuable for Boston. If Brissett can come in and suddenly play 15-20 minutes a night to help keep minutes down for everyone else, we’ll be able to look back on this stretch as a potentially critical one for keeping guys healthy. 

I’m really not trying to launch into exaggeration or hyperbole. Limiting minutes and being able to give some guys a night off between now and the All-Star break would be huge. If Brissett’s the guy to make it happen, then he’ll deserve some recognition for it. 

- Boston’s competition is doing them a nice favor

Philadelphia lost to Utah and Milwaukee lost to Houston tonight. The Sixers are on a two-game skid and 5-5 in their last 10. Milwaukee is 6-4. 

I know it feels too early to be checking in on the standings, but any time the competition wants to slip and give Boston an extra game is just fine. If Boston wins the East by a game, we can look back to tonight, where the Celtics fought off the Pacers while the Sixers and Bucks lost to bad teams as the reason why. 

Next up: The Celtics get to enjoy scenic Indianapolis for a couple more days as these two teams do it again in Indy Monday night