Game Recap: Pacers 135, Celtics 132 (OT)
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Pardon Pascal Siakam if he was taking personally his Indiana Pacers’ slow start and their opportunity to set things right against the Boston Celtics Wednesday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The Pacers’ early-season struggles and the ease with which Boston swept them out of the Eastern Conference Finals last spring were on all their minds. But Siakam had more skin in this game. He’d gone 0-13 against the Celtics dating back to the start of 2022-23. He faced them nine times last season and, incredibly, lost every game (four with Toronto, five after his trade to Indiana).
That explains why Siakam was so determined heading into the game and so satisfied after the Pacers survived 135-132 in overtime.
“It’s big,” Siakam said before leaving the floor. “We’ve got to be that team that fights to the end.”
Siakam put the “me” in “we” with 29 points, 11 rebounds, 6-for-8 shooting on 3-pointers and the Pacers’ final two buckets.
The first of those came out of a timeout in OT, a jumper in the lane that stopped Indiana’s bleeding with 36 seconds left and tied it for the ninth time at 132-132. The second was his game-winner, a 3 from out top that left the Celtics only 6.1 seconds left.
GAME-WINNER FROM SPICY P ️ https://t.co/wNK6nSR3rp pic.twitter.com/JgTTy5Q2eL
— NBA (@NBA) October 31, 2024
Here are five takeaways from the Pacers’ victory:
1. Two steps forward, one back for Indiana
If the Pacers look at this one in the proper perspective, they can count it twice in finding their footing this season. The first positive was the way their high-octane offense performed for most of the first three quarters. Deep into that stretch, they were up 96-72 on the defending NBA champions, who were 4-0 coming in.
The ball and the players were moving, Indiana was doing well in holding down Boston’s potent 3-point game and All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton was more assertive as his team’s lead grew.
In overtime, coach Rick Carlisle and his crew could be proud of fending off the champs’ late rush and showing just enough resourcefulness to improve to 2-3 while handing Boston its first loss.
The fourth quarter? Well, we’ll put that on Boston’s side of the ledger.
2. Celtics defense almost got it done
Sure, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 24 points in the fourth quarter. But it was the scoring that Boston took away from Indiana down the stretch that almost flipped the outcome.
Led by Derrick White and pesky Payton Pritchard, the Celtics limited Indiana to 24 points and 7-for-22 shooting. Even bigger, the pressure produced six Pacers turnovers. Boston also got some quality time from deep reserve Neemias Queta, who had nine rebounds and was a team best plus-18 in less than 14 minutes.
So the rim got smaller for the Pacers, the ball got slicker, and the Celtics finally caught up on Tatum’s stepback 3 from out front with 14.4 seconds left in regulation. It forced the home team to rally with no momentum whatsoever.
3. Mathurin big off the bench
And for some Pacers fans unhappy with Bennedict Mathurin’s playing time, that’s a lot better than having Mathurin stuck on the bench.
Two years ago, as a rookie, the 6-foot-6 wing from Montreal by way of Arizona and Mexico attracted some attention for Sixth Man of the Year. Last season, he was improving until a shoulder injury stopped him in March.
So far this season? Mathurin’s playing time dwindled from nearly 28 minutes in the opener to less than 14 Monday at Orlando. Granted, Indiana has a deep roster and Aaron Nesmith overlaps Mathurin’s skill set, but the third-year player appeared to be slipping in the Pacers’ pecking order. Perhaps even scapegoated.
Until Wednesday. He logged more than 42 minutes, scored 30 points and added 11 rebounds to tip off another Sixth Man campaign. He got to the line 11 times and made 10, but he was most valuable injecting energy into a previously tentative ball club. Haliburton hasn’t been That Guy yet, so Mathurin picked up the slack.
4. Boston stays on 3-point pace
They started a little rough, missing seven of 10 tries in the first quarter. But by the end, Boston still hit 19 from the arc on 57 attempts. With 105 in five games, the Celtics are on track to blow up the NBA team record for a single season.
They have made more 3-pointers than their opponents in every game so far. And through the first four, they were on pace to made 1,763 – 400 more than Golden State’s record 1,363 two years ago.
Now the Celtics are hitting at a rate that would give them 1,722 by season’s end. That would break the Warriors’ mark by more than 26%.
5. Celtics catch a break, Pacers don’t
Good thing for the Pacers they tucked this one away, however frantically. Their difficult early schedule grinds on with road games at New Orleans and Dallas, then home games vs. the Magic and the Knicks sandwiched around a trip to Charotte. After that, consecutive games against Miami, then a three-game trip. In all, 10 of Indiana’s first 16 games are on the road.
For Boston, by contrast, it could be two weeks before it suffers another loss. The Celtics play a back-to-back at Charlotte this weekend, then one at Atlanta. Then it’s home to face Golden State – the Jayson Tatum Olympics revenge game, some will consider it, with coach Steve Kerr on the other bench – and Brooklyn. Even a presumed toughie at Milwaukee on Nov. 10 depends on the Bucks finding themselves.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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