The Boston Celtics barely escaped Indiana with a win, thanks to a perfect minute of clutch play
The Boston Celtics had their best start to any game against the Indiana Pacers. They hit their first 10 shots, and the Pacers could not complete a pass in any context. They were dominant, and they did not let up. They kept their lead up at 15 at half time, and it looked like the Celtics were finally going to get a commanding victory amidst this awful stretch.
Slowly but surely, the Pacers clawed their way back. Behind another monster performance from Victor Oladipo, the Pacers erased the deficit, and an Oladipo three pointer gave them their first lead with a minute left. It felt like the Celtics successfully collapsed, and when they fell down by 5 with around 30 seconds left, it was all but lost.
The Celtics blew a game they should have won with ease, but they had one more way to go and get that win. During their great winning streak to start the season, the Celtics had crazy comeback, and they blew big leads. The one thing that was always consistent was the way they showed up in the clutch, and that is exactly what happened against the Pacers.
They let Indiana get as far as they could without fully blowing the game, then closing the game perfectly allowed them to get a much needed victory. Kyrie Irving hit every three pointer he needed to keep it within reach, and then Terry Rozier came through with the play of the year for this team.
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It does not get much better than a walk off steal and dunk, and hopefully this will be the jolt that gets the Celtics back to where they were during that great opening stretch.
Obviously, the goal is to avoid getting into these kinds of situations. The Celtics have a major problem with holding onto leads. Basketball is always a game of runs, but this team is too good to dominate for that long, and still let the other team get back into it.
Much of this season will be about finding the balance that will allow them to get the commanding victories with all kinds of garbage time minutes to give the starters rest. The issue is that this is not a problem that is going to be fixed over night. The Celtics clearly have issues that need to be fixed, and it is going to be a process all season long.
During that first winning streak, the Celtics had this same problem. The difference is that they found a way to pull out the victory int he clutch each and every night. Irving just retook the lead for most clutch points this season, and last night was a great example of how it is more than just Irving in the clutch.
The Celtics are always focused and always believe they can find a way to win. It is madness to expect the Celtics to have a perfect final minute like they did last night, but how they maintain that clutch play is likely to be what determines if they are able to hold onto that number one seed.
So far, we can be confident that what the Celtics are doing in the clutch is for real. They have done it time and time again, and Brad Stevens makes sure that no one panics and no one gives up. There is always that calming presence and there is always a plan, and this core just seems to execute at their absolute best in the moments that will win the game.
Relying on clutch performances will make this season as exciting as possible for the Celtics, but it is still an indication that they are not quite ready to contend for a championship. The Celtics always have problems exposed when they need to rely on the clutch to win, and it is about time they started overcoming those problems before one minor lapse could cost them a game.
Hopefully this is a sign that the Celtics are going to get back to finding whatever is necessary to win a game, because they are going to need that as they fight through the issues that are not going to be fixed overnight.
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The Celtics are still in the midst of their worst stretch of the season, but a win like that against the Pacers could be the wake up call that allows this team to finally start playing their best brand of basketball.