Boston Comes Home With A Much-Needed Road Win (Their First of the Season) At Indiana

 

    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.

A Blown Defensive Assignment & Dumb Shot Make The C's Lose Their First Road Game Of '20-'21

 

    It's amazing how often a 48-minute NBA game (assuming that it's decided in regulation) can come down to a few plays here or there that mean the difference between winning or losing. The Celtics (1-2 overall, 0-1 away) found themselves on the wrong end of a 108-107 loss tonight to the unbeaten Pacers (3-0 overall, 2-0 home) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Instead of picking up a very satisfying win in their first road game of the season, Boston basically blew it with a pair of fatal mistakes on both ends of the floor. Indiana was nursing a one-point lead when point guard Marcus Smart (11 points, 6 assists, 2 steals) stole the ball from small forward T.J. Warren (17 points, 5 rebounds) on an inbounds pass and went in for a layup that put the C's up 107-106 with 11.8 seconds left. If you felt like that was way too much time left on the clock for the Pacers, your worst fears soon came true.

    On their next offensive possession, Indiana's best player-power forward Domantas Sabonis (19 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists)-drove to the basket and made a layup while getting fouled. Somehow Celtics power forward Grant Williams (6 points, 4 rebounds) and center Robert Williams (12 points, 4 steals, 2 blocks) screwed up the defensive switch on Sabonis which gave him a wide-open lane to the hoop. He missed the free throw and Robert Williams grabbed the rebound which gave Boston another chance to win it. With eight seconds left (!), the best that head coach Brad Stevens could come up with was an ill-advised three-pointer attempted by power forward Jayson Tatum (team-high 25 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists) that clanked harmlessly off the rim. Obviously, his luck from Wednesday's bank-shot three against the Bucks (1-2) was nowhere to be found. There's not much in the NBA that I hate more than that hero shot in those type of situations: go to the basket and try to draw contact or get a better shot for yourself or heaven forbid a teammate. Ugh, those are the worst and they are only infecting lower levels of basketball (college, high school, AAU, etc) with that crap.

    Besides those two rough sequences, this was a contest that Boston honestly should have won. They outscored Indiana in three of the four quarters (not the 3rd of course), hit two more three-pointers (9-7) and seven more free throws (18-11) while also grabbing three more rebounds (40-37) and making two more steals (13-11). The only place where the Pacers really excelled was in the paint as they outscored the Celtics by 20 points (62-42) near the basket. 

   Playing in the second night of a back-to-back, the home team understandably got off to a very slow start but the fresher Celtics weren't really able to take advantage as they only led 23-19 after the first frame and 55-49 at halftime. The Pacers predictably woke up coming out of the break, hitting the Celts with a 16-2 run that left the C's dazed. As bad as they were in the third quarter (getting blitzed 39-28), Boston locked down Indiana in the fourth quarter (24-20) except when it mattered most. 

    After dropping 33 and 27 points in his first two games, small forward Jaylen Brown (18 points, 2 steals) was held more in check by Indiana. There were many frustrating aspects of this winnable game for the Celts but another angle is that they are unlikely to have many better collective performances from their bench this season: they outscored Indiana's 42-3 led by rookie point guard Payton Pritchard (13 points, 2 steals) who shot a perfect five-for-five from the field including three-for-three on three-pointers. The Pacers only played eight guys but they all made some type of contribution to the victory: point guard Malcolm Brogdon (25 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals) was surprisingly their leading scorer, center Myles Turner (10 points, 7 rebounds, 5 blocks, 2 steals)-who should be a Celtic if GM Danny Ainge had pulled the trigger on the widely reported trade offer for Gordon Hayward-was a defensive force while small forward Doug McDermott (16 points) and shooting guard Justin Holiday (13 points) were both solid off the bench.

    These teams will no doubt start to hate each other in due time since they meet again on Tuesday night (7, NBC Sports Boston) in Indianapolis. Indiana's second best player-shooting guard Victor Oladipo-sat out tonight to rest his knee-and he scored 22 points in both of their previous games this season so you figure that if he suits up, the Pacers will be even harder to beat. If Stevens ever wants to show his face in his beloved home state, he has to return to Boston with a win from this brief return to his roots. As I predicted, Indiana is right at their level but still, a sweep would be simply unacceptable if they have any intention of being above average this season. Just find a way guys, 2-2 would look a whole lot better than sporting a yucky 1-3 record.