It was looking all too familiar.
After a strong effort by the Boston Celtics on both ends of the court in the first half, they came out in the third quarter and began to implode.
It was looking to be the same story as Sunday night — also against the Indiana Pacers — where the Celtics’ sloppy play lost them the game. Instead, Boston did a complete 180 in the final frame.
Boston managed to pull out a 116-111 win thanks to the fourth-quarter rally, but it came down to the wire, of course.
Jayson Tatum led the team with a double-double, scoring 27 points with 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Jaylen Brown followed that with 20 points and a crucial late-game steal, and Marcus Smart had 17 points with five assists.
Tristan Thompson had a double-double, as well, with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while rookie Payton Pritchard continued to impress with 10 points, five assists and five rebounds off the bench.
For Indiana, guard Victor Oladipo scored a team-high 24 points, as the Pacers dropped their first game.
Boston, meanwhile, improved to .500 with a 2-2 record.
Here’s how it all went down:
STARTING FIVE
PG: Marcus Smart
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Daniel Theis
C: Tristan Thompson
DEFENSE DOING IT
The Pacers certainly learned from Sunday night and didn’t give the Celtics the benefit of an early run this time around. And the teams stayed neck-and-neck through much of the opening quarter.
Thompson impressed early helping Boston get second-chance scoring opportunities, taking a beating under the basket but recording seven rebounds. Boston collectively out-rebounded Indiana 15-8.
And the defense came out active and physical, too, with 10 of those being offensive boards. The Celtics also had three steals and scored eight points off five Pacers turnovers.
Behind nine points from Brown and eight each from Smart (2-of-3 from deep) and Thompson, Boston managed a 31-26 lead at the end of the quarter.
BENCH IS BALLIN’
The Pacers wasted no time cutting down that Celtics small lead in the second as Boston paid for some careless passes and turned the ball over.
But Robert Williams was subbed in to bring some more energy, and he delivered. The center had four points and three rebounds before the break, and he hit a nice fadeaway after getting the ball from Pritchard, who had four points, three rebounds and three assists in the first two quarters.
Javonte Green put together a good showing int he second off the bench as well, playing 15 first-half minutes and recording seven points and three rebounds.
Boston did a good job defending Domantas Sabonis who was held to five first-half points.
Smart’s 11 points led the Celtics at halftime while Thompson and Tatum contributed 10-apiece. Boston narrowly led Indiana 57-58.
ANOTHER SIGNATURE CELTICS THIRD
Oladipo led the Pacers in the first half with 13 points, and by the end of the third he had 20.
Meanwhile, the Celtics racked up 11 turnovers by the end of the quarter and then they did that thing they do in third quarters all the time. The Pacers outscored them 37-25 in the frame.
Grant Williams got his first opportunity to play all game about four minutes in and hit a big 3-pointer to bring the Celtics within four. Smart drove hard to the hoop and dished it out to Williams in the corner.
Brown was a bright spot with a team-high 17 points, and Tatum finished the quarter with 15.
The Celtics trailed 83-94.
CELTICS WANT THIS ONE
The Celtics opened the final quarter on an 11-0 run to tie things it all up at 94. We don’t know what this was, but it was awesome:
And with a shot off the glass, Tatum gave Boston a 100-98 advantage.
From there, Boston’s offense came alive and a group effort gave it the separation they needed. And a steal down the stretch from Brown, followed by a transition layup, sealed the deal.
The Celtics outscored the Pacers 33-17 in the fourth.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Oladipo was on fire tonight, despite the loss.
UP NEXT
It will be a quick turnaround for the Celtics, as they host the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night in Boston. The game tips off at 7 p.m. ET.
