After climbing out of a 17-point hole in Monday night’s win over the Pelicans, Joe Mazzulla found value in his team having to earn a win. In fact, the second-year bench boss expressed a desire for his team to encounter more disadvantageous situations.
“I hope it happens 10, 12 more times so we can get rid of the entitlement that we’re always supposed to be winning,” Mazzulla said. “I hope we have to blow leads. I hope all that happens. I really do. I think it’s just like, at times, we’re just supposed to be winning all the time, and it’s just not the case.”
Less than 24 hours later, Mazzulla got his wish, as his squad blew a 20-point lead and then almost blew another double-digit lead with under six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. But just like the night before, the Celtics survived, defeating the Indiana Pacers 129-124 and clinching the season series.
Kristaps Porzingis returned to the lineup and immediately made his presence felt when Jayson Tatum found the big man cutting on the baseline for an easy flush. The dunk opened the scoring for the game, and the floodgates for the Celtics’ offense.
Behind 15 first-quarter points from Derrick White and 19 from Jayson Tatum in the second quarter, Boston poured in 81 first-half points en route to the 20-point lead. Boston’s 81 first-half points marked their fourth-highest-scoring first half in franchise history and their most in a first half since 1982.
Boston’s starting lineup of Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Porzingis, White, and Jrue Holiday combined for 75 points on 28-of-43 (65.1%) shooting, outscoring the Pacers as a team, finishing with 66 points.
However, that lead was erased quickly as Boston’s third quarter woes struck again.
Indiana opened the third quarter on a 25-10 run, erasing a 15-point Boston lead. Going back to the second quarter, it was a 32-12 for the visitors.
“That second and third quarter, we just didn’t play well,” Mazzulla said postgame. “Just didn’t execute defensively.”
The second quarter struggles defensively were masked by Boston’s offensive explosion, as they scored 45 points in the frame on a ridiculous 15-of-18 (83.3%) shooting from the field and 7-of-9 (77.8%) from deep. A team rarely scores 40 points in a quarter and loses the frame. But that’s just how hot Boston’s offense was Tuesday night.
When the offense cooled off, Boston’s defensive struggles were exposed, resulting in the lead disappearing.
Ultimately, as they so often have this season, Boston figured out a way to win, advancing to 15-8 in clutch situations.
“We’ve been a lot better than we have been in previous years where we’ve been able to put teams away,” Brown said. “Only a handful of times teams have come back and found a way to win against us, even if it is a big lead or so. In the past, a lot of you guys remember some of those resulted in losses. I think it’s a step forward that in those moments of adversity, we still have found ways to win.”
The Jays were fantastic once again. Tatum led the way for the Celtics with a game-high 30 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, a steal, and two blocks. Brown poured in another 25 with six rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Tatum turned the ball over twice, while Brown committed zero turnovers for the second consecutive game.
Here are three takeaways as the Celtics advanced to an NBA-best 7-2 on the second night of a back-to-back and closed out the grueling January schedule 11-5.
Defense saves the day
While Boston certainly benefited from Tyrese Haliburton watching the final 18 minutes of the game from the bench due to reaching his minutes restriction, the defense came up big down the stretch, holding the Pacer’s top-rated offense to just 21 fourth-quarter points.
“You have to be able to win games with your defense,” Mazzulla said postgame. “I thought we had really good defense down the stretch, made some winning plays.”
The Celtics have made it a point to pride themselves on the defensive end this season, and on Tuesday night, Boston’s defense got them the win.
Following a timeout, Holiday inbounded the ball side-out, finding Porzingins one-on-one on the block with Aaron NeSmith. The 7-foot-2 big man backed down the 6-foot-6 NeSmith, drilling a five-foot jumper over the smaller defender. The deuce put the Celtics up by nine, but the Pacers had one more answer in them – responding with a 6-0 run.
Leading by three with 1:04 remaining in regulation, the Celtics needed their defense to step up, and they answered the call.
Boston held the visitors scoreless in the final minute, rejecting three shots, as the Pacers missed each of their four shots over that stretch. Two of those three blocks came on the same possession – and they could not have come at a more significant point.
After a Porzingis turnover, the Celtics had a foul to give, so White intentionally fouled Buddy Hield to stop the break, allowing the Celtics to set up their defense. Once Boston’s defense was set, they clamped down on the Indiana offense, forcing a NeSmith to pull up from the corner with under five seconds on the shot clock.
It’s fitting that White, who put Boston’s defense in position for that success, swatted NeSmith’s shot attempt in the first row of the crowd.
The Pacers were left with just 3.2 seconds on the shot clock. On the ensuing baseline inbound, Indiana found a good look under the rim for Myles Turner but was rejected by Tatum, forcing a shot-clock violation.
Crushed on the glass
If Boston could have grabbed a few rebounds, this game would have been over at halftime.
The Pacers snagged 17 offensive rebounds through the first three quarters, resulting in 27 second-chance points. On the other hand, the Celtics corralled just five for four points.
In their four games prior to Tuesday night, the Celtics had a significant edge on the glass, outrebounding Indiana 211-149, including 50-34 on the offensive glass. The Pacers finished with a 50-40 advantage on Tuesday night, including 19-7 on the offensive glass. As a result, Indiana put up 108 shots to Boston’s 87.
The Pacers outscored the Celtics 31-9 on second-chance opportunities.
While Boston cleaned things up in the fourth quarter, matching the Pacers with 10 rebounds (two offensive) apiece, the rebounding put Boston in the situation they found themselves in Tuesday night.
Mazzulla wasn’t too concerned postgame, and nor should he be. The Celtics are one of the better rebounding teams in the NBA.
“A few of them were effort plays for sure,” Mazzulla said. “But the rest of them were a byproduct of their motion offense, and us trying to be in shifts, and constantly moving us, and that team, that’s a hard-playing team, damn.”
Neemias Queta steps up (again)
With Al Horford out on the second night of a back-to-back and Luke Kornet still nursing a hamstring injury, an opportunity emerged for Queta. Once again, the big man provided impactful minutes – finishing a game-high +15 on the night.
Though he didn’t necessarily stuff the stat sheet, finishing with four points, a rebound, an assist, and two blocks, the Portugal native made his presence felt when he was on the floor, bringing energy to the TD Garden crowd with each of his two makes.
After Andrew Nembhard missed a pull-up jumper with 8.1 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Tatum quickly pushed the ball ahead in transition. Queta sprinted up the Celtics’ sideline before cutting to the rim for a wide-open two-handed slam as the buzzer sounded.
That wasn’t his loudest make.
A little over a minute of game time later, Queta and Jalen Smith squared off for a jump ball right in front of Indian’s basket.
Brown gained possession of the jump ball and tapped it right back to Queta, who rose over two Indiana defenders for an and-one slam, sending the Garden crowd into a frenzy.
“He was great,” Mazzulla said postgame. “I thought he did a tremendous job, particularly in the second half, of just making winning plays. I was talking to him today, and it’s like, I forget that he’s only and has played like 400 minutes total in an NBA game. So, just holding him to a high standard. What he did today, specifically in the second half, is kind of what I see that he can do consistently. It’s great to have a player like him, and he’s going to continue to get better.”
Regarding Queta, the Celtics have received way more value than they originally bargained for. With Porzingis and Kornet missing time and Horford not playing in back-to-backs, Queta has emerged as a viable option in Boston’s frontcourt.
“Neemy has been getting better, and he’s been working,” Brown said postgame. “He’s big when guys are out to come in and set that level of intensity.”
For the most part, Queta has provided impactful minutes every time he touched the floor. As we near the trade deadline, Queta feels like a perfect candidate to fill Boston’s open roster spot on the 15-man.
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