Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Tyrese Haliburton, Another Sloppy 3rd Qtr., Propel Pacers Past Celtics in In-Season Tournament
The atmosphere was electric at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for Monday's quarterfinal contest of the NBA's inaugural In-Season Tournament.
The Indiana Pacers, a small market team often out of the spotlight, relished playing in a raucous environment with a chance to punch their ticket to the semifinals in Las Vegas and continue competing for the NBA Cup.
While the Boston Celtics are battle-tested, a challenge like that against an opponent that's hungry and relentlessly pushes the pace represents an experience teams can never have too much of.
Unfortunately for the visitors in Monday's matchup, they didn't meet the moment.
That includes yet another third quarter where they weren't nearly as sharp as they needed to be, getting outscored 74-57 in the second half and committing 18 turnovers, leading to 17 points for the hosts.
There was also Tyrese Haliburton, a tour de force in the second half, generating 19 of his 26 points. He paired that with 13 assists and ten rebounds, registering his first-career triple-double in the Pacers 122-112 win.
Now for a deep dive into what stood out as the game unfolded, a breakdown that makes it easy to spotlight what Boston did when it was going well for the Celtics and what changed in the second half to flip who had control of the contest.
1. Pacers games are typically high-scoring affairs where both teams are feasting at the rim. But the first frame of Monday night's matchup was a low-scoring standoff, with the Celtics leading 24-22 after the first 12 minutes.
Boston shot just 41.7 percent from the field, including 3/9 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc. The visitors did a pretty good job of creating shots, but they would've benefitted from playing faster and with more physicality.
They produced ten points in the paint, though. That includes Jaylen Brown, who led all scorers, manufacturing ten points in the opening quarter, attacking downhill against no resistance, and then throwing down this thunderous dunk.
It also featured Derrick White and Jayson Tatum teaming up on a pick-and-roll that ended with a two-handed flush by the latter.
2. Dalano Banton again had his number called early, as he and Sam Hauser were the first in off Boston's bench, checking in at the 6:49 mark in the first period.
The former Toronto Raptor, who brings a bit of everything to the table, continues making good on his opportunities.
In his first shift on Monday, he attacked off the catch, getting into the paint for a drive-and-kick to create a three-point try for Payton Pritchard, grabbing an offensive rebound, and a pick-and-roll with Luke Kornet that culminated in Banton throwing a moonball of a lob to the seven-foot-two center.
He had three turnovers in 9:09 of playing time in the first half, a figure that's too high for how much he had the ball. Still, his plus-five plus-minus rating reflects the positive impact he made with his energy, length, and versatility.
3. Only one individual on either side grabbed double-digit rebounds in the first half. No one else came close. That person is Tatum.
Given the Pacers' personnel, the visitors often played with one big man on the floor, adding to how much they needed the four-time All-Star to make his presence felt on the boards.
It's an area he's made considerable strides in the last two seasons, reflecting his status as an all-around superstar who can make a difference with more than just his scoring.
The two-time All-NBA First Team selection also matched Brown with 12 points, the most in the game's initial 24 minutes.
4. Their output helped the Celtics put 31 points on the board in the first half. That included staging a 12-0 run to take a 55-46 lead. They entered the break ahead 55-48.
That output by Indiana represents its third-lowest scoring first half this season.
It's a testament to how well the visitors did challenging shots, staying active, and communicating in a raucous, playoff-like atmosphere at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The hosts' offense, the highest-scoring one in the NBA, is so good they still made 8/18 (44.4 percent) of their threes, but they shot 35.6 percent from the field. And they only had two second-chance points.
5. But after limiting Tyrese Haliburton to seven points on 3/8 shooting in the first two frames, the Pacers' star guard caught fire in the third.
Unfortunately, that coincided with yet another instance of Boston not being sharp following intermission.
Haliburton generated 12 points on 5/7 shots, drilling a three from nearly 30 feet, getting to the basket, and dishing out five assists. His heating up sparked a 17-3 Indiana run.
6. Six turnovers by the visitors didn't help the latter's effort to stem the tide. Neither did their offense's lack of diversity.
The Celtics needed to attack downhill more. Points off cuts were nonexistent. They could've played through Al Horford at the elbow, or gotten him the ball in the low post to play inside-out basketball or let him go to work near the basket.
Instead, there wasn't enough of an effort to create higher-quality looks, leading to shooting 40.9 percent from the floor, including 3/10 from behind the arc.
The combination of that, Indiana getting hot, including scoring seven points off the visitors' six giveaways in the third quarter, helped the Pacers claim an 85-78 advantage entering the final 12 minutes.
7. The final frame went back and forth for a while, with Tatum registering 13 of his game-high 32 points and Brown producing 10 of his 30.
But Indiana was decisively better down the final stretch, going on a 9-0 run in under a minute, including a four-point play by Haliburton.
While he finished with 26 points, 13 assists, and ten rebounds, earning his first-career triple-double, and was the driving force in the Pacers' win, it was Aaron Nesmith who provided the exclamation mark against his former team, throwing down a ferocious dunk near the end of the hosts' 122-112 win.
8. The victory propels Indiana into the semifinals of the NBA's inaugural In-Season Tournament. For a small market often out of the spotlight, that's a significant deal, something Haliburton's been vocal about.
As for the Celtics, on Friday, they will host the loser of the quarterfinal contest between the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks.
Further Reading
Former Celtics Assess If Boston Needs to Make Move to Help Title Pursuit
Jayson Tatum Compares Playing Style to Three NBA Legends, Discusses Dream Pick-Up Game
Joe Mazzulla Praises Payton Pritchard's Fourth-Quarter Performance in C's Win vs. 76ers
Here's What Stood Out as Celtics Earned Ugly Win vs. 76ers
Celtics Share Their Perspective of NBA's Flawed but Successful In-Season Tournament
An Empowered Jaylen Brown Strives to Balance Scoring with Playmaking: 'I've Grown A Lot'
Celtics' Loss to Magic Highlights Their Most Concerning Traits
Joe Mazzulla Believes Celtics' Second Unit is 'Starting to Develop an Identity'
Under Joe Mazzulla, Celtics Rebuilding Brotherhood Between Past and Present
