“We want to play fast, be unpredictable, create chaos for the opponent,” explained Indiana coach Rick Carlisle before the match, confident after his men’s high-level match two days earlier on the Boston floor. , despite the defeat (133-128 AD).
The chaos, Indiana ultimately did not create it in this second round of the conference final, too just after the break and especially stifled by the Celtics.
Like Tuesday evening, the Pacers got off to a good start in the game, buoyed by fast play and insolent skill behind the arc in the first quarter (57.9%). Boston reacted very quickly by giving their opponent a 20-0 in the following minutes. Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday combined for 34 points to give the Celtics a 6-point lead before the break (score 57-51).
The best team of the regular season marched on Indiana in the second act, largely dominating the Pacers near the circle (56 points to 34 over the entire match). Jaylen Brown continued his offensive festival (40 points in total), helped by the awakening of Jayson Tatum (23 points including 19 in the second half).
Haliburton injured in leg
Opposite, Pascal Siakam (28 points) tried to keep Indiana alive, but the Pacers lost their leader Tyrese Haliburton at the end of the third quarter, forced to return to the locker room due to leg pain (score 93-80).
Rick Carlisle threw in the towel just three minutes into the fourth quarter, sending on his replacements as the scoreboard read 99-82 in favor of the home side. The Celtics finished the job to finally win quietly at home 126-110.
“Jaylen (Brown) was in all the right places tonight. He played with a lot of composure, patience and discipline,” admitted his coach Joe Mazzulla after the match. “We were much better on offensive rebounding and defensive transitions, preventing them from finding easy shooting positions from distance,” added Jrue Holiday, who finished with a double-double (15 points, 10 assists).
Indiana continues its second defeat in this series, before hosting Boston at home in Game 3 on the night of Saturday to Sunday (2:30 a.m. in France). The Pacers had already overcome such a deficit against the Knicks in the previous round, finally winning 4-3 in the series. “I know our room will be louder than ever this Saturday. It will be a much better environment than playing here,” hopes Rick Carlisle.
