Boston Celtics @ Indiana Pacers
Saturday, January 6, 2024 at 7:00 PM ET
Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN | Game ID: 22300493
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
IND 17 32 32 20 101BOS 29 29 26 34 118
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown power Celtics to 118-101 win over Pacers
INDIANAPOLIS -- — Jayson Tatum scored 38 points, making a season-high eight 3-pointers, and Jaylen Brown added 31 points as the Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers 118-101 on Saturday night, snapping the Pacers’ six-game winning streak.
Tatum, who also had 13 rebounds and six assists, combined with Brown for 27 of the Celtics’ 46 baskets on a night they shot 51% from the field and never trailed.
“(Indiana) is really good,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. “When we play connected basketball, with physical half-court defense and intentional, poised offense, we play better, and that’s kind of what we did.”
Boston, which came into the game third in the NBA in field-goal percentage defense (.449) and third in rebound rate, limited the Pacers to a season-low point total and outrebounded them 70-42.
Bennedict Mathurin led Indiana with 20 points while All-Star Tyrese Haliburton finished with 17 points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals.
“We missed a lot of shots,” Haliburton said. “They’re a really good defensive team, but we shot a lot of shots that we like. Just didn’t capitalize on them.”
Boston held a 29-17 advantage at the end of the opening period, the Pacers’ lowest-scoring first quarter of the season. The Celtics opened up a 16-point lead in the second quarter and led 58-49 at halftime despite not attempting a free throw in the half. Tatum and Brown shot a combined 16 of 27 for 37 points before intermission.
“Me and Joe watch a lot of film together,” Tatum said. “It’s just finding ways to be aggressive. Play in space. Play off actions.”
Indiana cut its deficit to 84-81 entering the fourth quarter, but the Celtics led by as many as 19 in the final quarter and cruised down the stretch. Boston received only six minutes from starting center Kristaps Porzingis , who left the game due to an eye laceration.
It was the latest chapter in an eventful season series thus far.
In the first meeting, on Nov. 1 in Boston , the Celtics beat the Pacers 155-104 as Haliburton sat out due to injury. Boston’s point total was the franchise’s highest since 1959. In a hotly contested rematch on Dec. 4, Indiana prevailed 122-112 to knock the visiting Celtics out of the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament behind Haliburton’s first career triple-double.
Indiana played without starting shooting guard Bruce Brown (bone bruise in right knee) and reserve guard Andrew Nembhard (back sprain).
UP NEXT
Pacers continue their five-game homestand with a rematch against the Celtics on Monday night.
IND KarmaHide StintsShow StintsHide PMShow PMHide KarmaShow KarmaHide ScoresShow Scores
Who
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
BOSAH A. Horford
DW D. White
JB J. Brown
JH J. Holiday
JT J. Tatum
KP K. Porziņģis
LK L. Kornet
OB O. Brissett
PP P. Pritchard
SH S. Hauser
INDAN A. Nesmith
BH B. Hield
BM B. Mathurin
BS B. Sheppard
IJ I. Jackson
JS J. Smith
MT M. Turner
OT O. Toppin
OT O. Tshiebwe
TH T. Haliburton
TM T. McConnell
WA Walker
BOS/IND 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
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