Game ID: 42300301
Indiana Pacers @ Boston Celtics
Tuesday, May 21, 2024 at 8:00 PM ET
TD Garden, Boston, MA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT1 Final
BOS 34 30 30 23 16 133IND 31 33 29 24 11 128
BOS vs IND ScoutingBOS vs IND Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
BOS availability going into 5/09 · 1 day's restOUT Porziņģis missed 2 since 5/01, out tonight
BACK Kornet back 4/27 after 2, 12 min since (82% of 15)
BACK Tillman back 5/01 after 4, 7 min since (59% of 12)
BACK Queta back 5/07 after 5, 3 min since (27% of 11)
BACK Brissett back 4/27 after 2, 3 min since (31% of 10)
BOS availability going into 5/11 · 1 day's restOUT Porziņģis missed 3 since 5/01, out tonight
BACK Kornet back 4/27 after 2, 12 min since (82% of 15)
BACK Tillman back 5/01 after 4, 8 min since (69% of 12)
BACK Queta back 5/07 after 5, 4 min since (36% of 11)
BACK Brissett back 4/27 after 2, 4 min since (35% of 10)
BOS availability going into 5/13 · 1 day's restOUT Porziņģis missed 4 since 5/01, out tonight
BACK Tillman back 5/01 after 4, 8 min since (69% of 12)
BACK Queta back 5/07 after 5, 4 min since (36% of 11)
BOS availability going into 5/15 · 1 day's restOUT Porziņģis missed 5 since 5/01, out tonight
OUT Tillman missed 2 since 5/11, out tonight
OUT Queta missed 2 since 5/11, out tonight
BOS availability going into 5/21 · 5 days' restOUT Porziņģis missed 6 since 5/01, out tonight
OUT Tillman missed 3 since 5/11, out tonight
OUT Queta missed 3 since 5/11, out tonight
OUT Brissett missed 2 since 5/13, out tonight
BOS availability going into 5/23 · 1 day's restOUT Porziņģis missed 7 since 5/01, out tonight
OUT Tillman missed 4 since 5/11, returns tonight: 3 min (26% of 12)
OUT Queta missed 4 since 5/11, out tonight
OUT Brissett missed 3 since 5/13, returns tonight: 12 min (116% of 10)
NEW Tatum 37 to 42 min over the last 5
NEW Holiday 34 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW Horford 28 to 34 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 5/25 · 1 day's restOUT Porziņģis missed 8 since 5/01, out tonight
OUT Queta missed 5 since 5/11, out tonight
BACK Tillman back 5/23 after 4, 3 min since (26% of 12)
BACK Brissett back 5/23 after 3, 12 min since (116% of 10)
NEW Tatum 37 to 43 min over the last 5
NEW Brown 34 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Holiday 34 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW Horford 28 to 33 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 5/27 · 1 day's restOUT Porziņģis missed 9 since 5/01, out tonight
OUT Queta missed 6 since 5/11, out tonight
BACK Tillman back 5/23 after 4, 8 min since (66% of 12)
BACK Brissett back 5/23 after 3, 10 min since (100% of 10)
NEW Tatum 37 to 44 min over the last 5
NEW Holiday 34 to 41 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 6/06 · 9 days' restOUT Porziņģis missed 10 since 5/01, returns tonight: 21 min (71% of 29)
OUT Kornet missed 2 since 5/25, returns tonight: 3 min (22% of 15)
OUT Queta missed 7 since 5/11, out tonight
BACK Tillman back 5/23 after 4, 8 min since (68% of 12)
BACK Brissett back 5/23 after 3, 10 min since (100% of 10)
NEW Tatum 37 to 44 min over the last 5
NEW Brown 34 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW Holiday 34 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW White 33 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Horford 28 to 35 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 5/12 · 1 day's restOUT Smith missed 6 since 4/28, returns tonight: 10 min (65% of 16)
IND availability going into 5/14 · 1 day's restBACK Smith back 5/12 after 6, 10 min since (65% of 16)
IND availability going into 5/17 · 2 days' restBACK Smith back 5/12 after 6, 7 min since (46% of 16)
IND availability going into 5/19 · 1 day's restBACK Smith back 5/12 after 6, 6 min since (38% of 16)
IND availability going into 5/21 · 1 day's restBACK Smith back 5/12 after 6, 6 min since (38% of 16)
NEW Sheppard 16 to 21 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 5/23 · 1 day's restBACK Smith back 5/12 after 6, 5 min since (30% of 16)
NEW Sheppard 16 to 21 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 5/25 · 1 day's restNEW Nembhard 26 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Sheppard 16 to 22 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 5/27 · 1 day's restNEW Turner 28 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Nembhard 26 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Sheppard 16 to 22 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 101, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 18 free throws a game; Tatum at 27 and Brown at 23 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 9 a night. Without Porziņģis (6 straight). 5 days' rest. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 106, shooting 54 percent and 43 from three, 15 free throws a game; Haliburton at 22 and Siakam at 21 a game. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-9 a night and Indiana plus-1 and the arc, Indiana at 43 percent from three to Boston's 37. Call it Boston 114, Indiana 110, Indiana keeping it close.
5/09 vs CLE 94-118 — BOS notes
BOS lost 94-118. BOS shot 41% (33 of 80) to CLE's 55%, 8 of 35 from three, and went to the line 24 times to CLE's 16 — 20 points from the stripe to their 11. The glass went 31-44 against them. Tatum led with 25 (7 of 17, 2 of 5 from three, 9 of 11 at the line); Brown added 19, Pritchard 13. Q2 was theirs, 30-24, the deficit cut from 6 to 0, but the other 3 periods went 94-64 against them. Brown's -29 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/11 @ CLE 106-93 — BOS notes
BOS won 106-93. BOS shot 51% (41 of 80) to CLE's 43%, 13 of 34 from three. Tatum led with 33 (11 of 25, 2 of 8 from three, 9 of 9 at the line); Brown added 28, Holiday 18. The hinge was Q2, 27-20: a lead of 2 became 9, and the lead reached 23. Brown was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
5/13 @ CLE 109-102 — BOS notes
BOS won 109-102. BOS shot 49% (38 of 78) to CLE's 44%, 12 of 32 from three, and went to the line 24 times to CLE's 7 — 21 points from the stripe to their 5. BOS turned it over 14 times to CLE's 7, and CLE turned those into 8 steals. The glass went 48-32 for them. Tatum led with 33 (11 of 25, 2 of 8 from three, 9 of 9 at the line); Brown added 27, Holiday 16. The hinge was Q1, 37-30: from level to 7 ahead, and the lead reached 15. Horford was the night's best plus/minus at +11.
5/15 vs CLE 113-98 — BOS notes
BOS won 113-98. BOS shot 52% (42 of 80) to CLE's 48%, 19 of 43 from three. The glass went 43-28 for them. Tatum led with 25 (9 of 16, 3 of 7 from three); Horford added 22, White 18. The hinge was Q4, 28-20: a lead of 7 became 15. Horford was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
5/21 vs IND 133-128 — BOS notes
BOS won 133-128 in 1 overtime. BOS shot 47% (47 of 99) to IND's 54%, 15 of 45 from three, and went to the line 30 times to IND's 10 — 24 points from the stripe to their 9. BOS turned it over 14 times to IND's 21. Tatum led with 36 (12 of 26, 2 of 8 from three, 10 of 12 at the line); Holiday added 28, Brown 26. The hinge was OT1, 16-11: from level to 5 ahead. Tatum was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
5/23 vs IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 108, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 21 free throws a game; Tatum at 30 and Brown at 22 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Porziņģis (7 straight). One day's rest. Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 111, shooting 55 percent and 43 from three, 14 free throws a game; Siakam at 21 and Haliburton at 20 a game. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Indiana at 43 percent from three to Boston's 35 and the line, where Boston takes 21 free throws a game to Indiana's 14. Call it Boston 116, Indiana 113, Indiana keeping it close.
5/25 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 118, shooting 54 percent and 41 from three, 15 free throws a game; Siakam at 24 and Haliburton at 18 a game. One day's rest. Boston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 106, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 20 free throws a game; Tatum at 30 and Brown at 26 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Porziņģis (8 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-8 a night and Indiana minus-2 and the defense, Boston allowing 106 a night to Indiana's 118. Call it Boston 117, Indiana 114, Indiana keeping it close.
5/27 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 117, shooting 55 percent and 38 from three, 14 free throws a game; Siakam at 24 and Haliburton at 19 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has won the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest. Boston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 110, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 22 free throws a game; Tatum at 31 and Brown at 26 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Porziņģis (9 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the line, where Boston takes 22 free throws a game to Indiana's 14 and the defense, Boston allowing 110 a night to Indiana's 117. Call it Boston 117, Indiana 116, Indiana keeping it close.
6/06 vs DAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 110, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 20 free throws a game; Tatum at 29 and Brown at 26 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Porziņģis (10 straight). 9 days' rest. Dallas comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 106, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 23 free throws a game; Dončić at 32 and Irving at 27 a game. Without Hardaway Jr. (3 straight). 6 days' rest.
So: Boston wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Boston 115, Dallas 111, Dallas keeping it close.
5/12 vs NYK 121-89 — IND notes
IND won 121-89. IND shot 57% (50 of 88) to NYK's 34%, 14 of 31 from three, and got to the line 8 times to NYK's 31. Haliburton led with 20 (8 of 15, 4 of 10 from three); McConnell added 15, Siakam 14. The hinge was Q1, 34-14: from level to 20 ahead, and the lead reached 43. Haliburton was the night's best plus/minus at +31.
5/14 @ NYK 91-121 — IND notes
IND lost 91-121. IND shot 43% (31 of 72) to NYK's 47%, 12 of 27 from three. IND turned it over 18 times to NYK's 9. The glass went 29-53 against them. Siakam led with 22 (7 of 15, 2 of 3 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Turner added 16, Haliburton 13. Q1 was theirs, 32-38, but the other 3 periods went 83-59 against them. Toppin's -25 in 21 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/17 vs NYK 116-103 — IND notes
IND won 116-103. IND shot 54% (49 of 91) to NYK's 44%, 9 of 26 from three, and got to the line 13 times to NYK's 26. The glass went 47-35 for them. Siakam led with 25 (11 of 21); Turner added 17, Nembhard 15. The hinge was Q2, 32-21: IND came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 10, and the lead reached 23. Nesmith was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
5/19 @ NYK 130-109 — IND notes
IND won 130-109. IND shot 67% (53 of 79) to NYK's 42%, 13 of 24 from three, and got to the line 16 times to NYK's 27. Haliburton led with 26 (10 of 17, 6 of 12 from three); Siakam added 20, Nembhard 20. The hinge was Q1, 39-27: from level to 12 ahead, and the lead reached 23. Haliburton was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
5/21 @ BOS 128-133 — IND notes
IND lost 128-133 in 1 overtime. IND shot 54% (53 of 99) to BOS's 47%, 13 of 35 from three, and got to the line just 10 times against 23 fouls committed. IND turned it over 21 times to BOS's 14, and BOS turned those into 11 steals. Haliburton led with 25 (8 of 18, 6 of 14 from three); Siakam added 24, Turner 23. Q2 was theirs, 33-30, the deficit cut from 3 to 0, but the other 4 periods went 103-95 against them.
5/23 @ BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 108, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 21 free throws a game; Tatum at 30 and Brown at 22 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Porziņģis (7 straight). One day's rest. Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 111, shooting 55 percent and 43 from three, 14 free throws a game; Siakam at 21 and Haliburton at 20 a game. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Indiana at 43 percent from three to Boston's 35 and the line, where Boston takes 21 free throws a game to Indiana's 14. Call it Boston 116, Indiana 113, Indiana keeping it close.
5/25 vs BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 118, shooting 54 percent and 41 from three, 15 free throws a game; Siakam at 24 and Haliburton at 18 a game. One day's rest. Boston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 106, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 20 free throws a game; Tatum at 30 and Brown at 26 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Porziņģis (8 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-8 a night and Indiana minus-2 and the defense, Boston allowing 106 a night to Indiana's 118. Call it Boston 117, Indiana 114, Indiana keeping it close.
5/27 vs BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 117, shooting 55 percent and 38 from three, 14 free throws a game; Siakam at 24 and Haliburton at 19 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has won the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest. Boston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 110, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 22 free throws a game; Tatum at 31 and Brown at 26 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Porziņģis (9 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the line, where Boston takes 22 free throws a game to Indiana's 14 and the defense, Boston allowing 110 a night to Indiana's 117. Call it Boston 117, Indiana 116, Indiana keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
INDAN A. Nembhard
AN A. Nesmith
BS B. Sheppard
IJ I. Jackson
JS J. Smith
MT M. Turner
OT O. Toppin
PS P. Siakam
TH T. Haliburton
TM T. McConnell
BOSAH A. Horford
DW D. White
JB J. Brown
JH J. Holiday
JT J. Tatum
LK L. Kornet
PP P. Pritchard
SH S. Hauser
IND/BOS the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Tatum scores 36, Brown hits 3 to force OT and Celtics edge Pacers 133-128 in Game 1 of East finals
BOSTON -- — The Celtics entered the playoffs expecting to get everyone’s best shot.
The East’s top seed barely survived a tough one to open the Eastern Conference finals.
Jayson Tatum scored 36 points, including 10 in overtime after Jaylen Brown 's tying 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds remaining in regulation, and Boston rallied just in time for a 133-128 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night.
Jrue Holiday added a season-high 28 points and Brown finished with 26.
“Welcome to the NBA playoffs. You've just got to manage your emotions. Anything can happen,” Brown said of his tying 3. “It's not over until the final buzzer sounds. ... It's not over until it's over. We found a way to win the game at the very end.”
It gave his team a new life and helped it hang on to home-court advantage with Game 2 set for Thursday in Boston.
But guarding against complacency was also on the mind of Tatum. The Celtics have lost Game 2 in each of their previous two series.
“It doesn’t prove anything,” Tatum said. “We won a big-time game. The series is far from over.”
Tyrese Haliburton had 25 points and 10 assists for the Pacers, who knocked down 13 3-pointers and scored 56 points in the paint against a Celtics team still playing without 7-footer Kristaps Porzingis .
But Boston dialed up its defense, finishing with 11 steals — three each by Brown, Tatum and Holiday. The Celtics become the first team in NBA playoff history to have three players record 25 points and three steals in a game.
The Celtics were cold for most of the game from 3-point range, but ended the night 15 of 45 from beyond the arc.
“We keep talking about protecting home court,” Celtics forward Al Horford said. “It’s whatever it takes.”
Pascal Siakam added 24 points and 12 rebounds. Myles Turner finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds for the sixth-seeded Pacers, who twice turned it over with a three-point lead in the final 30 seconds of regulation.
Brown made them pay for the second one, hitting a 3 from the corner with Siakam right in his face to tie it at 117.
“Jrue made a good pass, ( Derrick White ) set a great screen and the rest is history,” Brown said.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla like the poise Brown showed.
"Jaylen had great balance," he said. “Great pass, great shot.”
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said the loss was "totally on me" for not calling a timeout to advance the ball before their turnover that set up Brown's shot.
Asked about the 21 turnovers Indiana committed, Haliburton said many of them were preventable.
“I think it’s more on us,” he said. “I just felt like more of them were probably on us than them forcing turnovers.”
The Celtics are now 2-2 when their opponent scores 100 or more points.
Holiday said the Celtics never panicked after falling behind late in regulation
“I think we always knew that there’s always a chance. We’ve seen crazy stuff happen all the time,” Holiday said. “I don’t think that we think we lost the game until we actually lost the game and that’s part of the reason why we were so resilient.”
Indiana went back ahead 123-121 when Haliburton hit all three free throws after being fouled with 1:46 remaining. Tatum then muscled in a layup and was fouled by T.J. McConnell . He completed the three-point play to put Boston ahead for good.
The Pacers turned it over again, this time by Haliburton. The ball found its way to Tatum at the top of key. He pumped, sidestepped a defender and sunk a 3 to make it 127-123 with 43 seconds left.
White and Siakam traded layups. Holiday was fouled and hit two free throws to give Boston a 131-125 cushion.
“It’s unfortunate we did so many good things in this game that it came down to a couple of mistakes at the end, but it’s the NBA playoffs,” Carlisle said. “We’ve got to learn from it and we’ve got to bounce back.”