NBA — With five players at 15 points or more, including a Jayson Tatum — Jaylen Brown — Malcolm Brogdon trio at 85 points, the Celtics got out of the trap set by the Pacers in overtime (142-138). Despite Myles Turner’s 40 points and 10 rebounds…
After a well deserved rest during the All-Star Break, Indiana et Boston began the second half of the season with a first thriller, decided after extra time and won by the visitors after a match rich in points: 142-138!
In an attacking match, therefore, first dominated by the Celtics before the Pacers end up picking up the score, the players of both teams took the opportunity to heal their individual statistics. Like Jayson Tatum (31 points, 12 rebonds, 7 passes), Jaylen Brown (30 points, 11 rebounds) and Malcolm Brogdon (24 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds), who responded to Myles Turner (40 points, 10 rebounds) and Tyrese Haliburton (22 points, 14 passes, 3 interceptions).
Still under pressure from Milwaukee, Boston gives itself a little air at the top of the East, while Indiana moves away a little more from the Top 10 of this same conference.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
— Boston too loose. We did not go far from the correctional side Celtics. If they certainly seemed to have the keys to this meeting for a long time, creating a gap almost on command in the first half, Joe Mazzulla’s men also suffered quite a bit in defense and their lack of concentration on this side of the floor caused the Pacers waking up after the break. On fire from 3-pointers, Rick Carlisle’s men restarted the game and then played eye to eye with the best team in the NBA. Expensive with the ball, but skilful and present on the offensive rebound, the C’s trembled, but the C’s managed to win…
— Indiana pays for her inexperience. This is what makes the difference between a team called to play for the title and another in full reconstruction: the management of key moments. Because the Pacers had bullets to kill too unruly Celtics in this part, including three times at 125-125 in the fourth quarter. Except that Tyrese Haliburton’s teammates did not take advantage of it and, in overtime, Boston did not miss his chance when it presented itself. Assassins, the Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Malcolm Brogdon and other Marcus Smart thus folded the case, without failing to force Indy to thwart.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Myles Turner. When the pivot of the Pacers is in such a “zone”, his team finds itself metamorphosed. All evening, he spent his time off, penalizing the defensive mistakes of Robert Williams III and Al Horford, visibly unwilling to pick him up so far from the basket. Hence his (record) number of 3-point successes and his terrible heat stroke in the third quarter, to revive Indiana in the game. At the same time, we can only regret Turner’s inability to block the defensive rebound, because the Celtics have accumulated second chances from start to finish.
✅ The Brogdon/White pair
. To be able to count on such a duo coming off the bench? A real boon, and that’s an understatement, for Joe Mazzulla. It is not the performances of the day from Malcolm Brogdon and Derrick White that will prove the contrary. Sharp and incisive to say the least, they immediately brought for Boston, between their 3-point shots and their sharp penetrations. All sprinkled with a few well-felt shifts to find open teammates behind the arc or in the paint. It was necessary that to answer the triplet of backs Tyrese Haliburton – Buddy Hield – Bennedict Mathurin.
⛔✅ Jayson Tatum. Two-speed match for the MVP of the last All-Star Game, since it took him half time to (re)start. Limited to 6 points and 1/8 in shooting at the break, he has for too long wanted to force things with the pass or the shoot, without letting the game come to him naturally (without this preventing his team from winning). Revengeful on returning from the locker room, “JT” mainly set about attacking the Pacers’ defense by getting his points near the circle, then he found a semblance of outside address and his Celtics boss costume, with a ” dagger” as a bonus. Enough to save his performance and his stats.
⛔ Defenses. Always the same: was it the unstoppable attacks or the invisible defenses? Here, we will rather opt for the second option, as the boulevards were numerous, the frequent oversights and the shooters in an armchair to trigger their shots. In line with All-Star Weekend, the players of the Pacers and Celtics were not the type very concerned when they had to struggle defensively and the final score can attest to this. And again: fortunately the attackers had trouble taking care of the ball…
THE FOLLOWING
Indiana (26-35) : trip to Orlando, on the night of Saturday to Sunday (01:00).
Boston (43-17) : trip to Philadelphia, on the night of Saturday to Sunday (02:30).
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
