After a 37-point win for the home team on Friday, the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers squared off again on Sunday night. The Celtics were looking to repeat their successes from two nights prior, and the Pacers were hoping to avoid the same fate. And for most of the game, Indiana got their wish.
The Pacers blitzed the Celtics on Sunday, showing off some of the high-level offense that got them to the Eastern Conference finals last season. The Celtics defense that shut down Indiana on Friday was completely absent, as they got blown by time and time again. In the end, the Pacers earned a 123-114 victory, avenging their Friday night loss.
Here are three studs and three duds from the Celtics’ loss to the Pacers on Sunday.
Stud - Jaylen Brown
Fresh off of his 44-point performance against the Pacers on Friday night, Jaylen Brown was back to work on Sunday. Once again, Indiana struggled to find an answer for the Celtics star.
Brown was once again red-hot in the scoring column, beating the Pacers in a variety of ways with the ball in his hands. He was making shots, driving through contact, and giving Boston’s offense some much-needed life.
For most of this season, Jayson Tatum has been playing the entire first quarter, but Brown did on Sunday (much like he did all of last season). It paid off.
It was the Brown-led group that spearheaded the Celtics’ success late in the first quarter, and he looked like the best offensive hub on Sunday.
Dud - Defense
This was one of the worst defensive games the Celtics played this season, and most of it came from the standpoint of their lack of communication.
Boston’s individual defensive showings have seemingly gotten worse this year, and this game was a great example of that. Indiana was getting to the rim with ease on almost every possession. It was as if the Celtics were rolling out a red carpet for them.
The Celtics were failing to communicate in their pick-and-roll coverage, giving up bad mismatches with Myles Turner down low, and getting blown by far too often in one-on-one situations.
No matter what way you spin it, this was an ugly defensive game for Boston.
Stud - Payton Pritchard
As Tatum’s three-point shot failed to find a rhythm, the same problem was not present for Payton Pritchard. The NBA’s leading Sixth Man of the Year candidate was on fire on Sunday.
Pritchard gave the Celtics’ offense a huge boost with his three-point shooting, as he was especially thriving in an off-ball role. He was knocking down shot after shot, particularly in the first half.
Even when Pritchard got his chance to handle the ball and create for himself, he was successful, weaving in and out of the defense for some tough shots. (This was highlighted by a gorgeous fall-away middy in the second quarter.)
Dud - Al Horford
Sometimes, a bad night is defined by three-point shooting, and games like those are especially prevalent on a team like the Celtics. Sunday was one of those nights for Al Horford.
He just didn’t have it from beyond the arc, despite getting a ton of quality looks that were set up by his teammates. The Celtics could have used his shot-making, too, as they were struggling mightily on defense.
There’s no doubt that Horford will bounce back, but Sunday was not his night.
Stud - Jordan Walsh
In a game where most of the Celtics’ defense looked slow and out of focus, Jordan Walsh provided a nice spark. He got regular minutes throughout the course of this game and used them to bring some great energy on the defensive end.
He didn’t provide much on the offensive end in terms of scoring, but he was constantly crashing the glass on both sides of the court. Plus, his aggressive on-ball defense was exactly what the Celtics were looking for.
This wasn’t the type of game that will stand out in the box score for Walsh, but he was a glimmer of light for an otherwise dreary Boston defense.
Dud - Jayson Tatum’s energy
Though he filled up the box score and turned up his scoring in the second half, this was a very weird Jayson Tatum game. It was the type of performance Bostonians have become used to seeing from him.
In the first half, his scoring was rough, as he put up some ugly shots from beyond the arc, and even his good looks weren’t falling. But his defensive intensity was also wavering.
Tatum didn’t look nearly as engaged as he was on Friday, and neither did the rest of the Celtics’ defense. He turned it up in the fourth quarter, but for most of the evening, this was a weird one.
Add in some odd foul choices and some missed boxouts, and this was just a very off-kilter night for the Celtics superstar.