Jaylen Brown scored 30 in easy win: Six reasons why the Celtics cruised past Indiana

BOSTON -- The Celtics had a mostly easy time with the Pacers in their short stopover back in Boston. There weren’t any “first game back from a long road trip” blues in this one as they broke open a tight game late in the first quarter, withstood a late Indiana run, and won big, 119-104.

The Celtics used a 12-2 run to build a 10-point lead heading into the second quarter. They doubled that in the second quarter behind 10 from Jaylen Brown and five Pacers turnovers. It got up to 23 in the third, but a late Pacers run got it back down to 13 heading into the fourth. It never got below 12, though, and the Celtics put together a 22-12 run build their lead back up and win easily.

Here are six reasons why the Celtics were able to win.

A BIG NIGHT FROM JAYLEN BROWN

He started a little slow from the field, shooting 2-8 at one point, but he got to the line consistently and ultimately got going to shoot 50%. He finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. What started out as a tough night in the paint turned into 8-14 shooting from that area. He also got nine trips to the line, which continued a trend of him drawing fouls.

“Yeah, maybe it was the fine,” he joked, referencing the $35,000 he paid after blasting the refs for not getting to the line in a loss to San Antonio. Since then, he’s gotten to the line, seven, 12, 10, and nine times.

All JB knows is tough buckets 💪🏾 pic.twitter.com/AyMHSaTPRZ
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 22, 2026

SAM HAUSER’S JANUARY HEATER CONTINUED

He shot 5-7 from 3 in this game, his eight with five or more triples this season. Half of those have come this month, fueling a 48% January from beyond the arc.

Sam doing Sam things 👌🏻 pic.twitter.com/kqqxadZm4L
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 22, 2026

That is a big reason why he’s a +9 in January, but that's not the only reason.

“I think Sam's ability to just continue to play two-way basketball, his ability to defend at a high level, and then it obviously just allows us to spread the floor and play a little bit offensively,” Joe Mazzulla said after the game.

If you pay close attention, you’ll notice that Mazzulla will never praise Hauser or Anfernee Simons without mentioning their defense as well. He refuses to let them be defined as only shooters or scorers.

THEY PROTECTED THE BALL (MOSTLY)

The final number (16 turnovers for 19 Pacers points) looked bad, but most of those turnovers came after they’d built a 23-point lead, and they stopped after the Celtics quelled the Pacers run. When the Celtics were up 20 at halftime, they had only five turnovers for three Pacers points.

THEY TOOK A TON OF FREE THROWS

Boston as 23-25 from the line. Again, at halftime, they were +11 from the free throw line, which was basically half the reason they were up big (the other reason was they were +9 from the 3-point line). The Pacers kind of caught up in the second half, mostly the fourth quarter, but the early trips to the line were enough for Boston to take control.

“I'm pleased with back-to-back games, 25 and 30 free-throw attempts,” Mazzulla said. “One of the ways you have to combat (physicality) is getting to the free-throw line. So I think back-to-back games, being able to do that just gives us a shot.”

THE PACERS MISSED EVERYTHING

They shot 39.4% from the field and 26.7% from 3. They actually took more shots and more 3-pointers than the Celtics, which are margins Mazzulla always wants to win. But the Celtics made five more 2-poiters and five more free throws to account for the 15-point win.

EVERYONE PITCHED IN

Amari Williams is the only guy who played who didn’t score, and he only got four minutes of garbage time. The Celtics got 32 points from the bench and everyone in the starting lineup scored double-figures, even if a couple of guy had tough shooting nights.

OTHER NOTES

The Celtics went to a lineup of Payton Pritchard, Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh, Luka Garza, and Anfernee Simons in this game, which had only played 11 possessions together before tonight.

“I thought Payton did a good job in the first half of picking up the pace in that second unit,” Mazzulla said. “We kind of controlled the pace of the game offensively. I thought Payton spearheaded that.”

Neemias Queta had five blocks to go along with 17 points and nine rebounds. His rim protection was a big part of why the Pacers struggled.
Pritchard and Derrick White didn’t have great shooting nights (combined 8-22) but they were Boston’s +/- leaders at +26 and +18 respectively.
This was Brown's 24th 30-point game of the season, already a career-high for a single season.

The Celtics are back on the road for a back-to-back in Brooklyn and Chicago Friday and Saturday night.