Final: Celtics 101, Pacers 98 (OT) - Robert Williams bails out Celtics, Jaylen Brown leads C's in overtime

GAME 41
Boston Celtics (19-21, 12-8 home, T-10th East) vs. Indiana Pacers (15-25, 3-15 away, 13th East)
TD Garden
7:30 PM - NBC Sports Boston
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Boston: Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, Robert Williams

Indiana: Justin Holiday, Keifer Sykes, Duane Washington, Jr., Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- Payton Pritchard (Health and Safety protocols) is the only Celtic out tonight.

- Pacers in Health & Safety Protocols: Justin Anderson, Goga Bitadze, Caris LeVert, TJ Warren

- Other Pacers injuries: Malcolm Brogdon (Achilles), Torrey Craig (Return to Competition Reconditioning) and Isaiah Jackson (Return to Competition Reconditioning) are all questionable. TJ McConnell (wrist) is out.

- Boston is favored by 7.5

GOING A LITTLE DEEPER

Aaron Nesmith’s day on the farm

Nesmith was assigned to the Maine Celtics for a night (along with Bruno Fernando) to get some  extended full court run. 

“It’s huge. I think any opportunity we can get for guys to go down there, whether it's practices or a block of games is needed,” Ime Udoka said. “Obviously with the situation with us this year, guys in and out, we haven't been able to map out that time, but looked at it as a good opportunity with him just coming back to get some minutes there and get some live action.” 

Nesmith played 31 minutes for the G League Celtics, leading the team with 21 points on 9-17 shooting (2-7 3pt). He also finished with 9 rebounds, and 5 assists, but also 5 turnovers and 4 personal fouls. 

“Just being able to go out there and play freely and just kind of get back into a rhythm a little bit,” Nesmith said of his trip. “It's always fun and always a good experience.”

Nesmith, who was one of the Celtics caught up in the Health and Safety Protocols, has been struggling from the field this season. He was proclaimed the best shooter in his draft class, but that has yet to materialize.

“It's frustrating. My shot is not where it's supposed to be or where I want it to be,” Nesmith said. “I need to find my consistency with that and I need to get back to doing what I've been doing regarding that. But, besides that, just continuing to make the most of opportunities on the defensive side of the floor, even if my shot’s not falling make sure I can still make an impact without making jumpers.”

That impact is tough when the minutes are spotty, putting Nesmith in a bit of a Catch-22: He needs minutes to improve and make an impact, but he hasn’t been good enough to earn more minutes. So what’s a young guy to do?

“Do the work, the one-on-one, the individual work that they always do, as much as we could when we had the protocols stuff.” Udoka said. “We started doing the one-on-one individual film sessions and group sessions as well. So as much game action as they could see, sit down and talk to those guys one-on-one. But there’s no substitute for him getting out there playing or guys even having that practice time.”

And thus the trip to Maine, where hopefully this, and perhaps other assignments will help Nesmith do just that. The Celtics need shooting and Nesmith, theoretically, is an answer to that need. For now, he just needs to take these chances to play, wherever they are, and capitalize.

“Just make the most of my opportunities, play with confidence, go out there and do what I've always done in preseason, summer league,” Nesmith said. “(Udoka is) always just trying to instill confidence in the younger guys who don't get as much minutes, so that when we do get opportunities we play like we didn't miss a beat.”

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. Continue the ball movement: We’re keeping it simple here to start. The New York game showed the ball can move and guys can trust that they're getting the ball back. The Celtics are at their best when the ball hits both sides of the floor and then gets into the middle of the paint. The ball-dominant guys need to make quick decisions and trust their teammates, especially against a Pacers team with a big shot blocker in the middle. 

2. Lineup lessons? The last game featured no Smart/Dennis Schröder overlapping minutes. It’s something I’ve been screaming about for a while now, especially down the stretch. Let Smart handle the point and run some actions with Tatum and Brown off the ball for them to catch the ball on the move and put pressure on the defense. Smart leads the Celtics with 5.4 assists per game and 10.4 potential assists per game. He's 31st in the NBA in potential assists. He's 34th in the NBA in assist points per game created (14). He can handle the job.

3. DON’T SETTLE! Myles Turner is a big-time rim protector, but that doesn’t mean the Celtics have to play scared. They can still attack and challenge him by putting him in actions where he’s forced to make decisions. Also, challenge his desire to go for blocks with fakes and cuts that will draw him out of position.

GAME THREAD

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