BSJ Game Report: Pacers 133, Celtics 131 - Horrible 3rd quarter, rough late calls, cost Boston

Everything you need to know about the Celtics loss to the Pacers, with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

Jaylen Brown came out playing amazing basketball, but some tough defensive breakdowns and a blistering start by Benedict Mathurin limited Boston’s lead to just one after the first. They went back and forth for most of the second quarter but Boston closed the half on a 20-9 run, which included Indy losing Tyrese Haliburton to an injury. TJ McConnell took advantage of the opportunity, putting up 13 points and 3 assists in a 44 point third. The Celtics fought back in the fourth and took a brief lead, but a foul on Kristaps Porzingis with less than a second to go gave the Pacers free throws to win the game. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Third-quarter lapse: I don’t feel like this was the typical third-quarter lapse for the Celtics. It felt like they let up knowing Haliburton was done for the night. The Celtics didn’t play with the same urgency they played with in the first half. Meanwhile, McConnell’s energy was at a different level. He completely changed the game.

- Jaylen Brown was awesome: We can make some small quibbles about his game, and everyone had issues in the third quarter, but Brown was mostly amazing in this game. He shot 17-26, moved the ball, and made most of the right plays. 

- Bench outplayed: Boston’s starters scored 104 of their 131 points, which leaves 27 for the bench. Indian’s starters scored 58 of their 133 points, giving the bench 75. Sure, some of that was because Haliburton went down, but not all of it. Obviously, having Jayson Tatum and Sam Hauser would have changed things because Horford would have moved to the second unit, but Boston needed more one way or the other from their second unit. 

TURNING POINT

The Pacers opened up the third quarter on a 21-10 run, and ended up winning the quarter 44-33. The Celtics went from being in control of the game heading into the half to trying to catch up and match Indy’s energy. 

THINGS I LIKED

- Jaylen Brown: What more can I say about him? On a night Boston was without Tatum, he stepped up with a monster performance. Yes, there were a few turnovers, but only two live-ball.

- Payton Pritchard: He only missed once on his way to a 14 point night, but it was the four offensive rebounds that were most impressive.  

- Kristaps Porzingis: His passing stood out more than his scoring. He led the Celtics with seven assists and a couple of really nice ones down the stretch. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Not enough Porzingis: I think he needed more than 13 shots. He’s the mismatch, and it’s obvious he can pass to the right guy to burn the help. As much as Brown did to carry the team, they could have gone to Porzingis even more. 

- Free throw shooting: Boston, again, missed a bunch of free throws in Indiana. They were 20-29 in this game. If they hit their average of about 80%, they would have made two more. Kinda tough to swallow in a game they lost by two. 

HIGHLIGHTS

TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- The refs botched the review 

My understanding of the rule is that just touching the ball first doesn’t negate all contact. I can’t recall the exact play in Boston recently, but there was a similar play where a Celtic got fouled after the ball was touched first, but because he controlled the ball afterwards, the contact was still deemed a foul. 

My understanding is that blocking the shot first -- which means touching the ball and dislodging it -- does negate the contact after as it’s incidental. But Brown always kept control of the ball.

To me, that means the ball was never blocked. And because Brown kept control, the contact that came after Buddy Hield’s hand came off the ball is indeed a foul. 

Honestly, if touching the ball first meant all subsequent contact was absolved, then any time someone got a hand on the ball, they should just start throwing forearm shivers into players because it wouldn’t matter. Guys get their hands on the ball all the time, so it’s hard for me to believe the interpretation of the rule we saw in this game is correct. 

Here's all you need to know about that call: Two players with no skin in the game were floored by the ruling.

- All that said, Derrick White was wide open

I’m not saying this to get on Brown, who had a phenomenal game, and was damn near as perfect as an NBA player can be in this game. However, he drew three guys and White was WIIIIIIIIDE open. He just missed it, but the pass was the right play. 

It sucks because passing to White in that spot and White hitting the game-winning shot would have been a perfect story to write. Such a shame it didn’t happen. 

Next up: The Celtics return home for one game Wednesday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves