The Boston Celtics were pushed to the limit by the Indiana Pacers in their first game after the All-Star break, but the Green still prevailed with a 142-138 overtime win at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday night.
The Celtics, who have won six of their last seven games, improve their NBA-best record to 43-17 while the Pacers fell to 26-35.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
There certainly was no easing into the final stretch of games for the Boston Celtics.
Rick Carlisle’s team proved to be a feisty, chippy and far from an easy opponent leading to the Celtics sweating things out in their first game in over a week.
The Celtics stood tall and showed some fight of their own — Marcus Smart got into it with Tyrese Haliburton — after getting blitzed by the Pacers in the third quarter when Indiana scored 39 points in the stanza.
The Celtics had some mind-numbing moments, including in the final minute of regulation when both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum turned the ball over, but even when not playing their best, they mustered up response after response to erase any of their wrongdoings. Maybe the biggest contributing factor to the Celtics holding off the Pacers was grabbing 20 offensive rebounds.
It was far from an easy win, but the Celtics showed they know how to come through in these close games while the young Pacers are still learning in these moments.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Tatum got off to a slow start, but delivered Celtics a double-double. The All-Star guard poured in a team-high 31 points and corralled 12 rebounds while also notching seven assists.
— Malcolm Brogdon exacted some revenge against his former team. Brogdon netted 24 points off the bench on 9-of-12 shooting while dishing out seven assists and coming up with five rebounds.
— Myles Turner was a catalyst for the Pacers and finished with a game-high 40 points, including knocking down a career-high eight 3-pointers. He also grabbed 10 rebounds.
WAGER WATCH
Robert Williams quickly cashed a wager for some bettors. DraftKings Sportsbook set the odds of the Celtics big man scoring the first basket at +700, which he did with a layup on Boston’s second offensive possession of the game. A $100 bet would have netted a total of $800.
UP NEXT
The Celtics will travel to Philadelphia next for a primetime showdown with the 76ers on Saturday. Tipoff from Wells Fargo Center is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.
