BSJ Game Report: Celtics 103, Pacers 95 - Bench unit saves starters in fun comeback win

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

IN A NUTSHELL

The Pacers came out blistering hot from 3, but the C’s recovered to keep the deficit at nine heading into the second quarter. Things got worse for Boston as they went ice-cold while the Pacers kept up the hot shooting, taking a 20-point lead. Joe Mazzulla benched his starters after a lazy start to the third, and the bench unit got it back to single digits. The Celtics dominated the fourth quarter to get their third straight win.

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Mazzulla’s “great call:” The Celtics came out of the locker room at halftime with the wrong energy, giving up three offensive rebounds in less than three minutes, which prevented them from capitalizing on a slow shooting start to the half by the Pacers. So Mazzulla called a timeout, benched his starters, and watched his second unit completely change the game. After the game, Jaylen Brown said he thought the Celtics were throwing in the towel, but instead it worked out perfectly, calling it a “great call by Joe”

- Hugo Gonzalez is special: I can’t wait for all the podcasts re-drafting the 2024 NBA draft in a few years. I don’t know where Gonzalez is going to end up, but it won’t be 28th, that's for sure. Once again, he was a =/- monster, leading the team at +21. He played almost the entire second half and was an absolute menace. 

- 3-point variance: It should come as no surprise that the Pacers led 18 in a half in which they shot 12-20 from 3, but lost the second half in which they shot 1-20. That's right … ONE for TWENTY. That's 5% shooting from 3 after hitting 60% from deep. Yes, water tends to find its level, but I’ve never seen it hit its level that hard. 

TURNING POINT 

We all know what it is. Mazzulla benched his starters early in the third, down 69-49. Boston outscored Indiana 54-26 the rest of the way. You rarely see a turnaround quite like that. 

THINGS I LIKED

- Bench energy: This is the third straight game that the bench impacted in a big way. They combined for 32 points in a 103 point game. Even I can do the math there and say they scored almost a third of Boston’s points. 

- Joe Mazzulla, pressing the right buttons again: I’ve been saying he’s a good coach from the beginning. People wanted to see if he could coach up this ragtag group before determining if he’s a good coach or not. I think we have our answer.

- Hugo Gonzalez: His postgame media scrum was interrupted by Jayson Tatum, and they had the following exchange: 

Tatum: “Damn Hugo, you still here bro?”

Gonzalez: “Say what?”

Tatum: “You still here?”

Gonzalez: “Yeah, I’m still here.”

Tatum: “Yo, what I tell you yesterday?”

Gonzalez: “Uh, I can’t say it right now, bro.”

Tatum: “That you a bad motherf----r.”

Tatum is correct. Gonzalez grabbed 11 rebounds, blocked two shots, and stole it once while also being a general nuisance to the Pacers all night long. 

This kid is Boston’s next basketball obsession. Just wait. 

- Luka Garza: He was a big reason why the Celtics ended up +14 in second chance points. He is just relentless with his energy, and he comes out of games looking like someone turned the heat up to 90 in the building. He had five offensive rebounds and three assists, and his +13 was second-best on the Celtics. 

Jaylen Brown’s fourth quarter: He outscored the Pacers by himself, 14-13. He wasn’t exactly crisp prior to the benching, but he came out with something to prove after it. His shot-making in the fourth was out of this world. 

He got loud MVP chants in this game, and once again finished with 30 points. His final line was 31 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two blocks, one steal.

- Anfernee Simons: He was the primary scorer for the Celtics in that big third-quarter run. 

"I think Ant has been really good for us the last couple games," Mazzulla said. "He gets kind of put under the radar a little bit, but I thought some of his scoring stretch tonight and where he's grown defensively helped that unit as well."

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Slow start: The Pacers got unreasonably hot in the first half, but the Celtics weren’t exactly challenging a lot of those early 3-point makes. It’s like I wrote in the pregame, being too lazy about challenging shots would be an easy way to make this game harder than it needed to be. 

- Josh Minott: He struggled early and didn't play at all in the second half. I thought this would be a good matchup for him, but he looked bad. 

HIGHLIGHTS

TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Joe Mazzulla’s decision to bench his starters was great, but he nearly broke himself in half avoiding criticizing his team. 

I think it took guts to sit his main guys three minutes into the second half of this game. The Pacers are a six-win team, and that move backfiring could have cost him in a big way if it didn’t work out. 

Obviously, it did. And while I didn’t expect Mazzulla to take any credit for it, I thought it was kind of hilarious that he went through such great pains to avoid criticizing his team for their play leading up to the benching. 

“We always talk about depth, and that we always have 12 or 13 guys that can be able to help us win games at any different moment. So I just thought it was a good opportunity to utilize the depth that we have,” he said. “You saw a game where depth comes in many different ways, and that's it. At any point in time, everybody on our bench can impact winning, and so it's just a great opportunity to take advantage of the depth that we have, and I thought those guys did a great job just kind of changing the pace of the game.”

Come on, man. 

Mazzulla isn’t going to kill his guys in the media, but he could have been a little bit more honest about what happened in that moment. It’s okay to say ‘we didn’t come out with good energy and we needed to try something different.’ He kind of inched closer to that when he was pressed on it a few minutes later. 

“I think it was more about, 'This is what the game needs at this particular time,” he said. “Let's have an understanding that these guys are going to help us keep it—let's get it back a little bit, keep it close, and then it's their responsibility when they come back to win. So I thought today was an example of, like, a team. 

“You're not always going to be at your best. Guys come in, they keep it close, they chip away, you come back, you guys do your job, and everybody's responsible for winning. So I think it's more of just kind of the guys, it's a credit to them of having an understanding that anybody can impact winning at any time.”

I’m not even going to say he’s wrong about what he was saying. I more find it kind of funny how much he separates his actual conversations with the team from the media. I can tell you that his demeanor with his team is much different. And maybe this is why it works. The guys know he won’t come out and crush them for anything, even if he can sugar-coat it after a win. He’s honest with them privately, and he shields them publicly.

- Friday’s game could be pretty interesting. 

After the game, Brown said, “some of those dudes were talking trash over there. You know, whatever, but it kind of got me going a little bit. So the beauty of it is, you’ve got a game in a couple days, and what makes it even more beautiful, you get to play the same team again. So some of them dudes over there — one dude in particular — was talking a little crazy, so I'm looking forward to the next one.”

I’m not sure who he was talking about or what was said, but I’m keeping an eye on this game on Friday, now. 

Well, I was going to anyway because it’s my job, but I’m REALLY curious about this particular part of it. It could be worth keeping an eye on.

Next Up: The Celtics visit the Indiana Pacers on Friday to complete the home-and-home series.