3 takeaways from the Indiana Pacers impressive road win over the Boston Celtics
The Indiana Pacers picked up their best win of the 2022-23 season on Wednesday night, taking down the 22-10 Celtics in Boston. It was the Pacers first win over a top-three team in the Eastern Conference this season.
Indiana used a dominant first half to cruise to a victory. Through two quarters, the Pacers led 71-43 and looked like they were the team with the most wins in the NBA. At that time, point guard Tyrese Haliburton had 20 points and five assists. He played like a star in the first half, and his incredible play made the Pacers look great.
In the second half, though, Boston was much better. They scored 69 points, and Jayson Tatum was unstoppable. But Indiana's first half was still a massive hurdle, and the Celtics entered clutch time down by nine.
The Pacers have been awful down the stretch of recent games. They blew late leads to Cleveland and New York within the last week. They had a lead, sure, but Boston had all the momentum and has a ton of talent. This game was far from over.
The Celtics cut the lead down as low as five at times, but Haliburton took over for the blue and gold. He scored or assisted on all nine Pacers' points in the final five minutes, and the blue and gold made just enough stops to hang on to their lead this time. They emerged with a 117-112 win to improve to 16-16.
It was the team's first road win since December 5. Indiana desperately needed a season-stabilizing win, and they got it. Even though they almost blew it, the takeaways from this game for the Pacers are overwhelmingly positive.
Tyrese Haliburton is a star
NBA All-Star voting opened this week, and Haliburton put on a show to open the voting period. The third-year pro finished with 33 points and eight assists to guide his team to a win, including six made three-point shots and several timely plays.
All year long, he has given the blue and gold exactly what they need and right when they need it. Tonight was no exception. He found his open teammates when the Celtics sent him extra attention, and he knocked down much-needed shots when he was given space. He tore the Celtics up and was a +1 on the night.
It was an All-Star level performance from an All-Star player. Haliburton is now averaging 19.9 points and 10.6 assists per game this year and could be headed to Salt Lake City for All-Star proceedings next February.
Chris Duarte is back
Wing Chris Duarte returned from injury on Sunday for the Pacers after a six-week absence. He had six points and two rebounds against the Knicks.
He looked comfortable in the game, but it was mostly just a physical return for the 25-year old. Tonight was a physical and mental return. Duarte looked like the aggressive shooter and scorer that he was as a rookie, and he finished with 14 points and three rebounds in the win.
It was one of Duarte's best performances of the season, and his huge shots at the end of the third quarter were vital for Indiana. They don't win this game without him.
The Pacers just logged their most impressive win of the season
The Pacers have quite a few quality wins this year, including two over the Brooklyn Nets, one over the New Orleans Pelicans, and two over the 2022 NBA Champion Golden State Warriors. Their resume is solid.
But tonight was Indiana's most impressive win this season. The Celtics have 22 wins, which is tied for the most in the league. They won the Eastern Conference last season and have two All-Stars. The game was being played in Boston.
All things considered, this was the Pacers best win of the year and one they will hope to build off of. They will get their first chance to do that on Friday when they take on the Heat in Miami.
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- Aaron Nesmith is in a groove for the Indiana Pacers: 'Just playing free, playing to my strengths.' CLICK HERE.
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- Indiana Pacers wing Chris Duarte looks comfortable in return vs New York Knicks. CLICK HERE.
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