As great as it must have been to be stuck in an Indianapolis hotel for three days during the pandemic holidays, the Celtics (2-2 overall, 1-1 away) made sure that their first road trip of the season wasn't a complete waste of time. After a frustrating 108-107 loss to the Pacers (3-1 overall, 2-1 home) on Sunday night, the Celts bounced back tonight with a legit 116-111 victory-their first road win of the 2020-21 regular season-at good old Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Things weren't looking great for the C's late in the third quarter when they trailed by as much as 17 points (88-71) but they closed it to a slightly more digestible 11-point deficit (94-83) heading into the fourth quarter. From there, power forward Jayson Tatum (game-high 27 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals) and Co. put together their best frame in this young season by outscoring the home team 33-17 to hand them their first loss of the year.
After sitting out Sunday's encounter, Indiana's best player-shooting guard Victor Oladipo-was back in action with a team-high 24 points to go along with six rebounds and six assists. On Monday, Pacers power forward Domantas Sabonis (14 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals) was named the Eastern Conference Player of the week but this time around, head coach Brad Stevens and his team did a better job limiting the talented big man. The other three Pacers starters all scored in double-figures: sneaky Celtics killer/point guard Macolm Brogdon put up 19 points and seven assists, small forward T.J. Warren had 17 points and center Myles Turner filled the stat sheet with 16 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
Boston's starting five wasn't quite as productive as Indiana's but small forward Jaylen Brown (20 points, 4 steals) and point guard Marcus Smart (17 points, 5 assists) were both good and power forward Tristan Thompson (14 points, 10 rebounds) had his best game as a Celtic by recording his first double-double in green and white. Coming into this season, I don't think many thought that the Celtics bench would be one of their strengths but the additions of rookie point guard Payton Pritchard (10 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) and veteran point guard Jeff Teague (6 points) have really helped them not to mention the fact that center Robert Williams (8 points, 5 rebounds) is finally becoming a little more consistent. In this win, Boston's bench outscored Indiana's 34-21. Shooting guard Justin Holiday (12 points, 4 steals) was the only Pacer substitute who did anything meaningful in the loss.
There is not much that separates these two teams which is why it would make perfect sense to see them playing each other in the playoffs next spring as the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics got off to another fine start as they led 31-26 after the first quarter but the Pacers outscored them by four (31-27) in the second quarter to trim Boston's advantage to one-point (58-57) at halftime. Honestly, what is with the Celtics' struggles in the third quarter? This is getting a little absurd since this evening they were outscored 37-25 by the Pacers to take full control of the game. Who knows the reason but Stevens and his staff have to figure it out fast because the C's can't survive doing that for much longer. For once, Boston made a concerted effort to drive to the basket all game long and it was rewarded handsomely as they took more than twice as many free throws (37-16) as Indiana and hit 14 more of them (27-13). Another good sign for the road team was that they grabbed seven more total rebounds (43-36) including three times as many offensive boards (12-4).
I doubt that any other club in the NBA had a tougher first four games than Boston in terms of quality opponents: Milwaukee (2-2), Brooklyn (2-2) and Indiana are no doubt three of the better teams in the East. While it would have been nice to pile up some easy wins against the dregs of the league, if the Celts want to get any better they might as well get tested right out of the gate like this. In their first back-to-back of the season, the Celtics catch a break tomorrow night (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) as they host the Grizzlies (1-2) without their star point guard Ja Morant who is out for three-to-five weeks with a sprained ankle. The C's will be running on fumes while Memphis was waiting for them in Boston tonight but that is still not an excuse. They are a far better team with a superior coach and especially with no Morant, they should beat the Grizzlies end of story. For what it's worth (nothing), it would be nice to close out the worst year ever above the .500 mark rather than below it, just saying.
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