The Boston Celtics were doing a lot of things right in their matchup against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
Jayson Tatum was hot while both he and Jaylen Brown showed flashes of how their playmaking has improved. Jeff Teague depicted his value while Marcus Smart displayed good shot selection and rookie Payton Pritchard was making shots from deep.
But Boston’s sloppiness was impossible to ignore, and despite a late comeback, the Celtics gave up 23 points off 18 turnovers and lost 108-107 in Indiana.
The Pacers were led by Malcolm Brogdon (25 points), Domantas Sabonis (19 points) and T.J. Warren (17 points.)
Tatum had a team-high 25 points with 11 rebounds and five assists while Brown contributed 18 points, four assists, two rebounds, two steals and a block. Robert Williams was a silver lining after missing the Celtics game on Christmas Day, scoring 12 points off the bench with four steals, four rebounds, two blocks and an assist. Pritchard had 13 points, two assists and two steals.
Here’s how it all went down:
STARTING FIVE
PG: Marcus Smart
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Daniel Theis
C: Tristan Thompson
BALL SECURITY IS JOB SECURITY
Boston cruised out on a 7-0 run to start the game as Indiana’s offense struggled. Finally, the Pacers called a timeout to regroup after a pullup jumper from Brown extended the lead to 10-2 with Indiana shooting 1-for-8 from the field and 0-for-4 from beyond the arc.
And evident from the jump was Brown’s effort to make plays and play off the pick and roll.
The Pacers didn’t just roll over, however, and did not let the game get away from them early.
During a 10-2 run by Indiana, Brogdon helped cut the Celtics lead to 17-14 with just under four minutes to play. Boston’s seven turnovers in the frame didn’t help either.
Smart and Brown led the scoring effort for Boston in the first quarter, each with six points and two assists. Shooting 56.3% from the field, though, Boston managed to hold on to a narrow 23-19 lead against the Pacers who shot 34.6%.
TATUM WILL DO IT HIMSELF
The Pacers took their first lead of the game just two minutes into the second quarter despite the Celtics leading by double digits in the first.
Tatum started getting hot, and drained a 3-pointer to take back a 30-28 advantage, but the teams went back and forth from there.
Tatum scored 14 points in the second quarter, and racked up five assists in the first two frames.
Pritchard hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Celtics a tiny bit of separation towards the end of the half.
That momentum helped Boston get some breathing room, and they led 55-49 at the break.
TYPICAL THIRD QUARTER
Do you feel like the Celtics perpetually struggle in the third quarter? You’re not alone.
Indiana came out of the second half and went on a 12-0 run to take a 61-55 lead, their largest of the game, instigating a timeout from Brad Stevens.
Boston opened the third 1-for-10 and as its shooting started falling off, the C’s continued to turn the ball over. Robert Williams, though, was making positive contributions on both ends.
A small run, much in part thanks to the Boston bench, helped the Celtics close out the quarter trailing 88-83.
Indiana dropped 39 points in the quarter.
CELTICS SHOWING LIFE
The spark Pritchard gave Boston at the end of the third carried into the fourth, and Thompson briefly made it a two-point game.
But another run by Indiana extended that advantage back to eight points and led to a Celtics timeout.
Brown found his rhythm after that point, making it a four-point game with a hard drive to the basket and a stepback jumper.
Smart hit a floater, and Brown found Thompson in the paint to tie the game on an 8-0 run with 6:17 to play.
Robert Williams sniffed out a steal as the Pacers inbounded and jammed it in to tie things up at 100-100. He had another great block down the stretch when Boston was down two points, too.
But with the chance to steal the lead with under 40 seconds left, Tatum missed a 3-pointer and Sabonis went to the line at the other end.
The Celtics needed a stop on an inbound, and they made it happen. Robert Williams knocked the ball loose and sent Smart off for a layup to take a one-point lead.
An unfortunate miscommunication on defense, however allowed Sabonis to blow by Grant Williams and go straight for the hoop to close out the game.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Myles Turner is pretty good at basketball.
UP NEXT
The Celtics will remain in Indiana the next two days, as they play the Pacers again Tuesday. Tip is slated for 7 p.m. ET.
