Jayson Tatum, Celtics hold off pesky Pacers to win second straight: 10 takeaways
Jayson Tatum scores 30 and adds a late block to beat the Pacers 129-124.
The Celtics recovered from a shaky third quarter in time to claim their second win in a row on Tuesday, defeating the Pacers 129-124.
Here are the takeaways.
1. The Celtics scored a ton of points early – 81 in the first half, thanks in no small part to a continuation of Monday’s fourth quarter performance by Derrick White. After finding his shot in the fourth quarter Monday, White poured in 15 points in the first quarter against the Pacers and four more in the second. White was so good, he managed to spot the Celtics some minutes with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on the bench.
But defense won the Celtics the game in the fourth quarter, and predictably, White was involved on that end as well. With less than a minute remaining, he made a heads-up decision to take the Celtics’ foul-to-give, which allowed them to set up their defense and drew praise from Joe Mazzulla.
“He’s a genius player.” Mazzulla said. “We’ve missed our foul-to-give call on the last three times we tried to use it, and credit to him for recognizing that and taking advantage of it. Genius play.”
Shortly afterward, White made a massive play with 30 seconds remaining to swat away a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the corner.
The Celtics then finished off the play defensively with a big block by Jayson Tatum at the rim, and they held on the rest of the way for a win.
White finished with 24 points on 8-for-16 shooting to go with two rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block.
2. Reggie Miller, incidentally, was once again absolutely convinced that White will be an All-Star this year. We noted Miller’s enthusiastic support of White’s All-Star candidacy recently, but he sounded even more in White’s corner during Tuesday’s broadcast.
3. Like White, Jayson Tatum got lightning hot in the first half, dropping 23 of his game-high 30 points on 10-for-12 shooting. The Pacers could do very little to stop him – Aaron Nesmith drew the assignment more than most, but Tatum went right by Nesmith or simply elevated over his former teammate. On the last possession of the first half for the Celtics, Tatum pump-faked Nesmith up in the air and banked in a tough shot that pushed the Celtics to 81 points through two quarters.
With Tatum, sometimes there’s just very little you can realistically do.
The Celtics also continued to experiment with Tatum at center, although they didn’t go to that lineup for long. Mazzulla said the Celtics are interested in their ability to switch and rebound in those looks, but a major part of the reason Tatum played center was because both Horford and Luke Kornet were out.
“KP got his third foul, [Neemias Queta] had his initial stint, and it was like, ‘If this is something that we want to go to at the end of the game, let’s take a look at what it looks like at the end of the half so that we can see if we’re comfortable with it down the stretch,’” Mazzulla said.
4. Tyrese Haliburton, who returned from an injury and played just 22 minutes, finished 5-for-16 from the field, but he set the tone for the second half as the second quarter expired by banking in a shot from half court that trimmed the Celtics’ lead from 18 to 15. From there, a quick run by the Pacers at the start of the third trimmed the lead even more, and the Pacers briefly took the lead in the second half before the Celtics wrenched control back from them.
On Monday, Mazzulla told reporters he wants to see the Celtics blow more leads and have to fight through more adversity.
“He does like it,” Jrue Holiday confirmed after Tuesday’s blown lead. “It’s a learning experience. We’ve got to be able to be battle-tested. We’ve got to be able to fight through everything, fight through expectations, fight through being up 20 and then somebody having a great third quarter and then finishing games. If it feels easy the whole time, then what’s the fun in that? No, I don’t like blowing leads like that, but I think being able to battle back and win those is huge for us.”
5. Kristaps Porzingis returned after suffering an ankle sprain against the Heat. He struggled to find his shot (17 points, 6-for-17 shooting), but he grabbed 12 rebounds.
6. The Celtics gave up 19 offensive rebounds, which was key to the Pacers’ rally in the second half. Indiana outscored the Celtics 32-6 in second-chance points. Aaron Nesmith and Pascal Siakam combined for 18.
“I would say a few of [the offensive rebounds] were effort plays for sure, but the rest of them were a byproduct of their motion offense, and us trying to be in shifts, and constantly moving us,” Mazzulla said. “That team, that’s a hard playing team. Damn.”
7. Neemias Queta had another nice game in a back-up capacity, recording a pair of blocks in 14 minutes. He flubbed a jump-ball opportunity by grabbing it as the jumper in the fourth quarter (which isn’t allowed), but he made up for his mistake on a second jump-ball opportunity shortly afterward by tipping it to Jaylen Brown, who knocked it back to him for a massive two-handed slam-plus-the-foul.
“I forget that he’s only 24 and has played like 400 minutes total in an NBA game,” Mazzulla said. “So just holding him to a high standard, and what he did in that today, specifically in the second half was kind of what I see that he could do consistently. It’s great to have a player like him, and he’s going to continue to get better.”
8. Aaron Nesmith continued to shine against his old team, scoring 26 points on 11-for-17 shooting. Before Celtics fans get too angry, a gentle reminder: Nesmith never would have gotten the minutes and opportunities on the Celtics that he is getting on the Pacers, and the Celtics used the player they acquired in exchange for Nesmith (Malcolm Brogdon) to acquire Jrue Holiday. All’s well that ends well.
9. Buddy Hield caused some mild drama after a timeout, shooting at the Celtics’ basket. Celtics assistant coaches were heated, and all parties exchanged words.
After the game, Mazzulla said the Celtics were at fault for not trying to block Hield’s shots.
“We’re supposed to block shots when the other team shoots our basket,” Mazzulla said. “That’s the rule.”
Hield and Celtics coaches appeared to mend fences after the game.
“It was great-natured,” Mazzulla said. “Buddy Hield is a great guy. Great-natured guy. Remember, he’s the same guy that admitted to his fault at the end of the other game.”
Mazzulla was referring to Hield’s admission that he hit Jaylen Brown in the head on a potentially game-deciding shot the last time the Celtics and Pacers matched up.
“Remember that?” Mazzulla said. “So he’s a really good guy.”
10. After a tough back-to-back against the Pacers and Pelicans, the Celtics have Wednesday off before the Lakers make their annual pilgrimage to TD Garden. After that, the Celtics get two days off before taking on the Grizzlies at home on Sunday.
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