The Boston Celtics earned a mini-series sweep over the Indiana Pacers with a win Wednesday night.
Boston led from the jump and didn’t look back in the 119-100 victory, helping them get back to .500 on the season.
With the win, the Celtics improve to 21-21 while the Pacers fall to 15-17.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both starred in the same game, an occurrence that has come few and far between due to injuries, COVID-19 and bad luck. A blowout win where both stars were hot was encouraging to see with the Celtics down a starter, even if Indiana isn’t very good.
Both players created for themselves and others, with Brown racking up a team-high 34 points with five boards and three assists. Tatum followed that up with 33 points, seven boards, four assists, two steals and two blocks. They went shot for shot, 11-of-19 from the field, leading Boston in one of their best shooting games of the campaign.
Maybe Kendrick Perkins should agitate them more often.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Dennis Schröder has played well when he gets the chance to start for Boston, and in Marcus Smart’s absence Wednesday he had 23 points, two rebounds, three assists and a steal.
— Josh Richardson played 29 minutes against the Pacers and was a playmaker off the bench. His five points, three rebounds, four assists and block may seem modest but he’s been impacting winning for Boston.
— A tight rotation. Nine players got some run Wednesday, with Payton Pritchard and Enes Freedom being the only two players who didn’t amass more than 10 minutes of playing time. This (and a mostly available roster) meant fringe rotation players weren’t on the court at the same time much, probably correlated to the reason Boston managed to keep its lead all game. Perhaps we’ve turned a new page managing lineups, and we’ll see if this trend continues.
WAGER WATCH
Schröder had -115 odds to score at least 15 points per DraftKings Sportsbook entering the game. It was a safe bet with Smart out, and a $115 bet would have profited $100.
UP NEXT
Boston has a tough stretch up ahead, traveling to Philadelphia next to face the 76ers before a matchup with the Chicago Bulls at home.
Tip off between the Celtics and Sixers on Friday is at 7 p.m. ET.
