At times it looked as if the Celtics’ second consecutive game against the Pacers might end in an excruciating loss like the first one did. Especially during a disastrous third quarter. But this time Boston was like, “Hey, what if we, like, didn’t let that ruin us?” What if we won 116-111?”
Of the 10 Boston players who took the floor in the contest, five hit double figures: Jayson Tatum (27-11-4 plus 3 steals), Jaylen Brown (20-2-2 plus 4 steals), Marcus Smart (17-1-5-1-1), Tristan Thompson (14-10-1) and Payton Pritchard (10-5-5-1). This was a full-team effort (and the screwups, when they happened, were also team-wide, but they recovered from them more effectively in-game). The Cs were ferocious on the boards when it counted in a way they simply weren’t in Sunday’s matchup, earning plenty of second-chance points as a result.
Let’s take a look at how it unfolded:
get this thing started then 1️⃣3️⃣ pic.twitter.com/cQVNbr25CU
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 30, 2020
I can't say I expected to see a Thompson/Theis give and go tonight, but here we are. That was nice
— John Karalis 🇬🇷🇺🇦 (@John_Karalis) December 30, 2020
Brown also went hard on offense to start:
https://twitter.com/Riffs_Man/status/1344077454458183681?s=20
i know u all think it’s crazy but Jaylen absolutely follows the moon cycles and wants to go into this one on a good note
— hometown hussy (@ohhhussy) December 30, 2020
Jaylen Brown is averaging 26 PPG, guys…
— Dart_Adams (@Dart_Adams) December 30, 2020
Smart decided he wanted in:
I don't like Smart taking a lot of shots. I do like Smart making a lot of shots
— Adam Taylor (@AdamTaylorNBA) December 30, 2020
But even more importantly (in light of how the last game went), Boston put up intense pressure on the Indiana offense, which made the lead they built seem more solid:
And the Pacers getting nothing near the rim. 11 of their first 15 shots have come from 3. https://t.co/kkG4hPOhMh
— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) December 30, 2020
Time Lord dunk alert!
Celtics Rewind is presented by @Tmobile pic.twitter.com/cMyOOC5tSH
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) December 30, 2020
🔘⚪️⚪️⚪️ pic.twitter.com/Htv4bNy8MD
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 30, 2020
Second quarter wasn’t quite as even, with the Pacers making up a lot of lost ground. We did see some cool shit from the bench, though:
Javonte's gonna keep earning himself minutes if he keeps attacking like this: pic.twitter.com/sqJh53s3Ob
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) December 30, 2020
geeeezzeeee pic.twitter.com/Ry4ukANgJm
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 30, 2020
Yall had me thinking Fastpp was a straight bum or something. Hes real solid.
— NBA Finals Trey (@TA1297) December 30, 2020
Perhaps TODAY is White Boy Day. On a less enjoyable note, fans were displeased with Jayson’s slow-ish first half:
https://twitter.com/Riffs_Man/status/1344083194514178050?s=20
It was kinda logy, but still…
https://twitter.com/JackBeTweeting/status/1344082831434084353?s=20
Personally I (and, I would hope, the Celtics) were more concerned with the Pacers shooting about as well in this game’s first half as the Cs were in the last game’s first half.
Pacers don't have an offensive rebound yet but it's partly because they're shooting a million percent from 3.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) December 30, 2020
Also Victor Oladipo was back for Indiana, looking very much like his old self.
Victor Oladipo spin cycle. 🌪 (via @BleacherReport) pic.twitter.com/GYXLnRMGxO
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) December 30, 2020
The remainder of Q2 played out like a brutal war of attrition, with the Pacers matching every Celtics punch. Lotta dudes for both teams clustered under the basket on every would-be rebound.
Tatum's got moves 👀
Celtics Rewind is presented by @Tmobile pic.twitter.com/EGkg0gL8Ut
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) December 30, 2020
See? Tatum’s fine.
Halftime: Celtics 58, Pacers 57
☘️ Smart: 11 PTS, 3 AST
☘️ Thompson: 10 PTS, 8 REB (5 OREB)
☘️ Tatum: 10 PTS, 5 REB
🏎 Oladipo: 13 PTS
🏎 Brogdon: 12 PTS, 3 AST pic.twitter.com/xpgqslJKIm— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) December 30, 2020
Third quarter comes around…historically a trouble spot for the Celtics…and this one did not buck that trend.
Pacers making everything
— Dew (@DeWPoints17) December 30, 2020
Keeping the Pacers off the boards but doesn’t matter cause all their shots are wide open
— Sam 🐐☘️ (@S_Scott019) December 30, 2020
Counterpoint:
tough 💪 pic.twitter.com/474CvSHI9Y
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 30, 2020
The twin-towers Theis/Thompson lineup was definitely questionable, but it kept giving us highlights.
Another one!https://t.co/Q0SFA5LYrH pic.twitter.com/BQAgorUZV3
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) December 30, 2020
Grant Williams didn’t see a lot of time but made the most of it:
Okayyy Grant 😤 pic.twitter.com/FfeLGFOvos
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 30, 2020
Jaylen throws it UP. Theis throws it DOWN.
Celtics Rewind is presented by @tmobile pic.twitter.com/IQuGTFokS8
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) December 30, 2020
But overall: Bad third quarter. Really, really bad. Pacers just kept canning shots and the Celtics seemed flabbergasted by it, unable to respond in any consistent fashion that could get a run started.
Pacers lead it 94-83 at the end of the 3rd
Catch the 4Q on @NBCSBoston or stream it right here https://t.co/uSr28gFzzp
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) December 30, 2020
Then the switch flipped—big time.
20-6 Boston run over the last 3:44, plus an and-1 free throw coming for Pritchard.
Pacers win probability peaked at 96.9% up 17 late in the 3rd.
94-91, Indiana, 10:03 to play
— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) December 30, 2020
11-0 Celtics run by Tatum plus bench.
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) December 30, 2020
Pritchard is ballin' tonight pic.twitter.com/ZhnlSmxVMl
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 30, 2020
Mind you, it wasn’t always pretty, but it worked:
That was quite a sequence pic.twitter.com/4MQJsNlZOZ
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) December 30, 2020
Pacers beat our ass so hard in the 3rd quarter they wore themselves out
— Bradsketbawl (@bradsketbawl) December 30, 2020
Boston took the lead at the 6:28 mark of the fourth quarter on a Tatum free throw and never looked back. Indiana definitely kept things close—as Mike Gorman noted on the broadcast, contests between these teams are always close and tense—but Boston wanted and earned payback for the last game.
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