Three takeaways from Indiana Pacers close loss in Boston to Celtics
The Indiana Pacers weren't quite able to get over the hump against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night. Despite erasing a 20-point lead in the third quarter and taking a second half lead, the Pacers didn't close out the NBA's best team and lost by five points.
The Pacers couldn't keep up with the red-hot Celtics in the first half. Boston was 12/21 on threes in that stretch, including 7/9 in the second quarter. Jayson Tatum and Derrick White were unstoppable, and it put Indiana in a big hole.
They erased it slowly over the next 10 minutes and took a lead, but the Celtics started the fourth quarter strong to put things away late. It was an impressive effort from Indiana, but it wasn't quite enough.
"Credit to Indiana, they play really fast," Celtics star guard Jaylen Brown said after the game during an interview on the TNT broadcast.
Losing to the Celtics on the road by a small margin is a fine result for the emerging Pacers, but after a terrific third quarter the final frame still was disappointing for the visitors. Their three-game winning streak came to an end.
Indiana is now 27-21 after the tough, yet encouraging, defeat. Here are the takeaways for the Pacers going forward.
Aaron Nesmith had a career night
Pacers young wing Aaron Nesmith, who used to play for the Celtics, had perhaps the best game of his four-year career.
The 24-year old posted a career-high in points (26, tied his previous best), rebounds (12), and assists (seven) all in the same game. He played over 40 minutes for the first-time ever and took advantage, filling up the stat sheet and playing solid defense.
Nesmith was 11/17 from the field and 4/7 from deep. He had a block and didn't turn the ball over once. Everything Nesmith did was terrific, and he had few errors along the way. It was a dominant outing.
Indiana played Boston to nearly an even draw in Nesmith's minutes. It was the best game of his time in the pros, and the Pacers wouldn't have had a chance without him. Making seven two-point shots is atypical for Nesmith, as is his recent run of solid passing, but he's been excellent of late and had a career night on Tuesday.
Boston's hot first half was the difference
As explained above, the Celtics were on fire early. It turned out to be the difference in the game.
The Pacers scored 40 points in the second quarter and 66 in the first half. That should have been enough to at least be within striking distance. Instead, they were down by 15 points at the break. Boston was making everything.
Some of that was due to poor defense from Indiana, but not all of it. The Celtics deserve credit for making a ton of tough shots. They buried 12 threes in the first half, with five different players making at least two. The ball was moving well.
In the second half, the Celtics cooled off and went 5/15 from long range. That gave the blue and gold a window to get back into the game, and they took advantage. But even a 58-48 scoring margin in the second half wasn't enough for the Pacers to come back. They had too big of a hole to climb out of.
"Talent. They're a very talented, very young team," Brown said of the new-look Pacers. Even with that talent, the Pacers weren't able to get it done thanks to a ridiculous first half shooting from Boston, who had 81 points at the break.
Tyrese Haliuburton's minutes restriction looms
Haliburton returned from injury on Tuesday night, and he was solid with 13 points and 10 assists. His shot wasn't falling, but the All-Star guard was still effective while nursing his hamstring injury.
It was revealed during the third quarter that Haliburton was done playing for the night. He had just crossed 22 minutes of playing time, and the Pacers shared that he was done playing. There was no re-injury — he reached a minutes restriction.
That will remain the case in the short-term going forward, which is a big deal for the blue and gold. In this game specifically, that was problematic because T.J. McConnell and Bennedict Mathurin were also sidelined with injuries. The Pacers ran out of ball handlers.
Andrew Nembhard and Pascal Siakam did fine controlling the rock late, but Indiana was missing too much talent as they let the game slip away in the fourth quarter. Haliburton's minutes restriction, and the rest of the Pacers backcourt health, will be important to monitor going forward.
The Pacers next play on Thursday when they take on the Knicks in New York.
- Tyrese Haliburton is named a 2024 NBA All-Star starter, he will represent Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis. CLICK HERE.
- Pascal Siakam had a tough transition after being traded to the Indiana Pacers, but his first practice changed everything. CLICK HERE.
- Indiana Pacers trade deadline rumor tracker. CLICK HERE.
- Indiana Pacers erase 20-point deficit but come up just short against Boston Celtics. CLICK HERE.
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