by Jordan Morey
With a tough test ahead, the Indiana Pacers will have to put their first loss of the 2023-24 season quickly behind them.
On Wednesday, the Pacers (2-1) are back on the road, taking on the first-place Boston Celtics (3-0) at TD Garden. Boston is the only undefeated team left in the Eastern Conference.
Indiana dropped a 112-105 Central Division matchup to the Chicago Bulls (2-2) on Monday. The Pacers led the Bulls 83-78 going into the fourth quarter, but the visitors limited the Blue & Gold to 23.1 percent shooting (6-for-21 field goals) in the final 12 minutes to deal Indiana its first loss of the season.
The game was close from start to finish, with 21 ties and 14 total lead changes. The Pacers made a season-low 12 3-pointers in the game and shot just 40.9 percent overall while turning the ball over 17 times.
Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton logged a third straight double-double in the loss, finishing with 19 points and 13 assists and veteran center Myles Turner achieved a second straight double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Like the Pacers did last week, Boston blew out the Washington Wizards 126-107 on Monday. The Celtics led the Wizards 42-19 at the end of the first quarter and coasted the rest of the game.
As a team, the Celtics shot 50 percent from the field, including knocking down 19 3-pointers. Boston’s All-Stars led the way, as Jaylen Brown finished with 36 points and six rebounds and Jayson Tatum scored 33 points while pulling down six boards.
Coming into the 2023-24 season, like the Pacers, the Celtics made a couple of key additions to their starting lineup.
In the offseason, after losing in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Miami Heat in seven games, the Celtics shook up their roster by acquiring Jrue Holiday from the Milwaukee Bucks and Kristaps Porzingis from the Wizards. As part of the three-team deal, former Celtics Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart went to the Memphis Grizzlies.
On their previous teams, both Holiday and Porzingis gave the Pacers problems last season. For the Bucks, Holiday averaged 31.1 points, 9.8 assists and 7.0 rebounds in four games against the Pacers in Milwaukee; and Porzingis averaged 20.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists in four games against Indiana for the Wizards. Holiday had double-doubles in two of the three games and scored 51 points with eight rebounds and eight assists on March 29.
Indiana and Boston had an up-and-down season series in 2022-23, with the Celtics coming out on top 2-1. After beating Boston 117-112 in December, the Celtics defeated the Pacers 142-138 in overtime in February and 120-95 in March.
The Celtics dominated at home last season, tying the Bucks for the best home record in the East at 32-9.
Tatum and Brown both had strong games against the Pacers last season. Tatum averaged 35.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists, and Brown put up 25.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists against the Blue & Gold.
For Indiana, Haliburton had some strong performances against the Celtics last season, averaging 25 points, 10.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds across the three games. Turner also had an excellent trio of games, averaging 23.3 points and 7.3 rebounds at center.
As of Monday night, the Pacers led the league in points per game (134), assists per game (37), 3-point percentage (43.2 percent) as a team and free throw percentage (86.2 percent).
So far this season, the two teams are playing at much different speeds, as the Pacers are playing at the fifth-fastest pace and the Celtics are 21st. Boston has steadily scored more points in each game played this season, and not given up more than 111 in a game.
Projected Starters
Pacers: G – Tyrese Haliburton, G – Bruce Brown, F – Bennedict Mathurin, F – Obi Toppin, C – Myles Turner
Celtics: G – Jrue Holiday, G – Derrick White, F – Jayson Tatum, F – Jaylen Brown, C – Kristaps Porzingis
Injury Report
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton – questionable (right ankle sprain), Bennedict Mathurin – questionable (right elbow bone contusion), Jalen Smith – questionable (left knee capsular sprain)
Celtics: Neemias Queta – doubtful (sore right foot)
Last Meeting
March 24, 2023: The Boston Celtics used a strong second half effort to post a 120-95 win over the Indiana Pacers at TD Garden, securing the season series 2-1.
Boston led 60-56 at halftime before distancing themselves in the third quarter by outscoring the Pacers 32-21, largely built on a 17-5 run. In the final 12 minutes, the Pacers scored just 19 points.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 34 points on 13-for-24 shooting, Jaylen Brown added 27 points and seven rebounds and Derrick White logged 22 points and nine assists.
For the Pacers, Tyrese Haliburotn finished with 20 points, nine assists and six rebounds in his first game back after a bruised left knee and sprained right ankle sidelined him for six games. Myles Turner also had a solid night, totaling 20 points and six rebounds.
While the Celtics just nudged the Pacers in shooting from the field 47.3 percent to 46.4 percent, Indiana made just four total 3-pointers to Boston’s 18 threes. Additionally, the Pacers struggled from the free throw line, making just 13 of 22 attempts.
Boston also took advantage of 17 Pacers turnovers by turning those into 21 points.
Noteworthy
- Indiana has not beaten Boston in a season series since the 2015-16 season.
- Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton leads all NBA players in assists per game at 12.3.
- Rick Carlisle has 898 career wins as an NBA head coach. Just 13 head coaches have reached 900 in league history.
- On Friday, the Pacers kick off a five-game homestand when they play their first-ever game of the inaugural In-Season Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The game will be played on a new court designed specifically for IST play.
Broadcast Information (TV and Radio Listings)
TV: Bally Sports Indiana – Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (sideline reporter/host)
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan – Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Eddie Gill (analyst), Pat Boylan (sideline reporter/host)
Originally posted on nba.com