Boston Celtics hold off late surge in Indiana, snap two-game skid

It was a great win for the Boston Celtics in Indiana last night after the team blew a lead but found a way to hold on in the end.

The Boston Celtics edged out a 114-111 win against the Indiana Pacers Tuesday night, despite blowing another double-digit lead. Boston earned a much-needed win after struggling over the past five games.

The Pacers went on a 23-5 run in the fourth quarter to take a 107-104 lead. Down the stretch, big buckets from Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart sealed the deal, along with a much cleaner inbound pass in the closing seconds.

Jayson Tatum had himself another 30 point performance, shooting 11/22 from the field, grabbing six rebounds, and snatching four steals. He struggled to find offensive touches in the 4th quarter, but carried the Celtics offense along with Gordon Hayward for the majority of the game. On the defensive side of the ball, Tatum had one his best showings, playing great help defense which led to many steals and fast break buckets.

The aforementioned Hayward had one of his best games of late – scoring 27 points on 10/19 from the field. He also led the team with 10 rebounds, recorded five assists, two steals, and a block. With the absence of Jaylen Brown and the struggles from Kemba Walker, Hayward needed to step up into a secondary role in the offensive scheme. He was much more aggressive in driving to the lane, and his jump shot looked as smooth as its ever been in a Boston Celtics uniform.

Daniel Theis was the third-leading scorer on the C’ss, finishing with 20 points, six rebounds, three assists, and 2 blocks. He also played 34 minutes, one of his highest totals of the season. He has proved himself as a reliable starting center in big moments, being able to protect the rim, as well as hit the outside shot.

TheBoston  Celtics offense stalled at the end of the game, as the ball largely remained in either Marcus Smart or Kemba Walker’s hands. They both struggled to find open teammates, leading to bad isolation possessions and contested shots that never had a chance of going in. Walker finished with 11 points, going 3/12 from the field and 2/8 from downtown.

He’s been a negative over the last ten games, and there seems to be something wrong. Whether he’s in a slump or he’s injured, it might help to get him some rest to get back on track. If the Celtics don’t have a healthy Kemba Walker for the playoffs, it greatly impacts their desires at a championship run.

Marcus Smart had an all-around decent game, ending with 16 points on 6/14 from the field, five rebounds, and five assists. He has fallen into a habit of taking late game shots when he’s often the 4th or 5th best offensive player on the floor. He’ll drive to the basket against a bigger defender, throw a shot up off the backboard and hope it goes in.

Sometimes it does, other times it looks like a terrible shot. This time, it happened to go in, and it ended up being the difference in the Celtics’ three point victory. It’s all part of the Marcus Smart experience.

The bench once again left much to be desired, only scoring 10 points in a combined 68 minutes. Most of the players to come off the bench are fine defensively, but few make an offensive impact worth mentioning. If everyone’s healthy, the bench will be upgraded with the addition of Marcus Smart, but as we’ve seen, that’s a big if.

For Indiana, Victor Oladipo played well against the Celtics, just like he always does. Despite looking sluggish after coming back from a year-long injury, Oladipo had a vintage performance, leading the comeback to eventually take the lead late in the 4th quarter.

He finished with 27 points on 9/16 from the field and 5/7 from three, seven rebounds, and four assists. He’s always had the Celtics’ number in big situations, and that could prove to be a problem in this potential first round match up.

Domantas Sabonis also carved up the Boston Celtics front-court, recording a ridiculous stat-line of 28 points on 57 percent shooting, nine rebounds, and eight assists. He played 41 minutes in the contest, as the Pacers’ offense seemed to always run through him. The combination of T.J. Warren and Myles Turner also were efficient scorers, finishing with a combined 38 points on 16/29 from the field. Turner caused a disruption for Celtics finishers at the rim, recording 4 highlight-worthy blocks.

So, the Celtics finally pulled out a victory – even though they might’ve not deserved one. Here’s the positives: they know how to build a lead. In the majority of their latest games, the Celtics have built double-digit leads to put the opposition on the back foot. However, they have experienced trouble in closing out games, specifically in the third and fourth quarters.

This win may help the Boston Celtics break that trend, as they will definitely need all the help they can get Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks.