BSJ Game Report: Celtics 142, Pacers 105 - Brown dominates as C's pound tired Pacers

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

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics started slow but picked it up behind Jaylen Brown’s 15 points to go up 17 after one. Brown continued that dominance in the second, getting a hand from Payton Pritchard, to push the lead as high as 28. It got up to 32 in the third as Brown and Jayson Tatum each dropped 12 and the Celtics cruised the rest of the way, putting up a season-high 142 points in the process.

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Dominant Jaylen Brown: He came out aggressive from the jump and played his best game in a while. His second-quarter stretch of a poster dunk, a transition layup, and a steal into a windmill dunk was incredible. This was his game from the beginning. 

- Pacers had nothing: They played a tough game last night and it showed. They had a quick burst at the beginning of the game where they got a bunch of second chances, but those never materialized into anything. They had some decent looks throughout the game and almost none of them fell. Even when the Celtics seemed to dial it back a notch in the third, it was clear the Pacers didn’t have a run in them.

- Needed an easy one: A hungry cheetah isn’t going to pass up a free meal when it finds a wounded gazelle, and the Celtics sure didn’t pass up the chance to feast on a struggling Pacers team in a tough situation. No, Joe Mazzulla didn’t put me into a chokehold so he could type that sentence. The C’s needed a palate-cleansing win, and this was it.

TURNING POINT 

The Celtics went on a 28-11 run over the final six minutes of the first quarter to turn a tie game into a 17-point lead. The Pacers never had a shot after that. 

THINGS I LIKED

- Jaylen Brown: I appreciate him going 6-11 from 3 hours after I expressed a slight concern over his long-range shooting. As much as the Celtics needed the easy win, Brown needed 66/55/100 shooting splits. The 6-6 from the line was as important for him as the 3-point shooting. 

Oh and he had four steals, too.

“He just gets into a zone where he’s just laser-focused on his ability to get to his spot, impact a matchup defensively, make plays on the defensive end,” Mazzulla said. “So I think it's just he has an ability to get himself somewhere to where he can really impact the game.”

- Jayson Tatum: Another double-double for him with 22 points and 13 rebounds. He had one big quarter to help keep the Pacers at bay, but mostly left the heavy lifting up to Brown.

- Jordan Walsh: He played 20 minutes, getting some early run when it was still meaningful and he made some nice contributions. He hit 2-3 3-pointers took and finished with nine points and five rebounds. It will get overshadowed, but Walsh’s minutes were a very nice positive for Boston to make up for not having Jrue Holiday.

“He has really good physical defensive possessions that you don't see,” Mazzulla said. “You have to really watch the possessions. He stands guys up, he doesn't open up his hips on angles. He’s physical. He got like two rebounds outside of his area. So he's continuing to get better on the small things that really matter.”

Mazzulla famously doesn’t give anyone a heads up about potentially playing because he wants them to be ready at all times. Walsh has looked to his vets to make sure he’s ready for moments like this.

“Al (Horford) is a good example,” Walsh said. “Really professional guy, really consistent guy, just coming into the gym every time at the same time, doing the same routine, whatever that is. … so doing the same thing every time with expectations to play and with expectations to succeed.”

- Al Horford: He did most of his damage early, but he had a very nice shooting night in limited time. He finished with 13 points on 4-8 shooting (3-6 3pt), five rebounds, and two assists. But the 20 minutes played is the best stat. On a night when they were missing Kristaps Porzingis, it’s great to not have Horford do too much heavy lifting.

- Payton Pritchard: He was two rebounds shy of a triple-double, finishing with 18 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds. He still struggled a little with his shooting (4-11 from 3) and he committed five fouls, but he needed a little bit of a boost like this. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Sam Hauser: He hasn’t hit a 3-pointer in his last three games, which is a rough slide. It feels worse because the last one he hit was on December 15, which is a looooong time ago in NBA terms because of the weird NBA Cup schedule. 

HIGHLIGHTS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- This was nice, now flush it.

I’m not going to be negative about a win. The Celtics needed a win like this and they did all of the things they needed to do to take advantage of the version of the Pacers that took the floor. It was really nice to watch them take care of business instead of relax because of Indiana’s injuries and them coming off the back-to-back. 

All that said, this is not the version of the Pacers we’ll see on Sunday. They might get a couple of guys back for that game, they’ll be embarrassed by the 40-point loss, and they’ll be rested after spending the day in Boston. 

Of course, Boston should take the positives out of this win, especially how they maintained their discipline throughout the game. But any lingering thoughts of how easy Sunday might be needs to go out the window pretty quickly. They need to come out Sunday with the same intensity as they did in this game to keep the good vibe going.

Next up: The Celtics host the Pacers again on Sunday night at 6 p.m.