The Celtics blew away the Pacers on Wednesday night scoring 155 points, Boston’s third highest points total in franchise history, to continue their unbeaten streak. Boston put together the perfect offensive performance winning by 51 points ending with eight different players over double digits. Jayson Tatum, on his search for his first KIA MVP, put up 30 points and 12 rebounds in only 26 minutes joined by the rest of the Boston starting 5 who all contributed 13+ points in the substantial win at the TD Garden.
The Celtics – similarly to Monday night in Washington – sped out to a rapid start offensively putting up 44 first quarter points led by a bright start from Jrue Holiday who had 8 points early. Jrue and Derrick White continued their elite backcourt pairing holding the Pacers to just 13.5% from the three-point line in the game. The limitless offence of the Celtics was on full display as they dismantled the Pacers’ defence, scoring 75 second half points in consecutive games for the first time in the team’s history. The Celtics produced an elite shooting performance hitting 20-39 shots from beyond the arc as they took control of the game with a 75-54-point lead at the end of the first half.
The Pacers were without star point guard Tyrese Haliburton and it showed as no Indiana starter passed 15 points with Obi Toppin the worst of a bad bunch picking up a -41 plus-minus in 25 minutes of the game. Former Celtics’ draft pick Aaron Nesmith returned to Boston for the first time since signing a 3 year 33-million-dollar contract with the Pacers this offseason, he was traded from Boston to the Pacers during the 2022 offseason in the Malcom Brogdon deal. He and the rest of the Pacers’ bench where the only players who found any offensive success, scoring 60 bench points although they were still outscored by the Celtics’ bench.
The Celtics took further control of the game leading by 38 points by the end of the 3rd quarter with the entire starting 5 being able to rest for the fourth quarter for the second time in two games. The Celtics bench performance and rebounding was superb as they outrebounded the Pacers 57-31 with Jayson Tatum hauling in 12 rebounds to lead the way for the Celtics.
Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser finally found their shooting touch combining for 7-9 shooting from three after a difficult 4th quarter against the Wizards on Monday. Dalano Banton and Oshae Brissett also had noticeable contributions of the bench, with Banton picking up 11 fourth quarter points. Brissett is quickly becoming a great energy guy providing a spark of the bench to aid the Celtics starters. Boston’s resounding back-to-back win moves them to a 4-0 record for the season with their second home win.
Jrue Holiday spoke to ESPN about the Celtics' success so far “I think it’s more about not being bored. It’s not getting complacent and locking into every game and each opponent”. Derrick White was also asked about the Celtics' offence “We’ve got so many weapons, you’ve got so much talent around you, it makes the game easy. The Celtics will now start a three-game road trip looking to extend their unbeaten run to five games, as they will face the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Centre on Saturday Night.
Add comment
Comments