The Celtics returned from the All-Star break Thursday night and kicked off their three-game road trip with a win over the gutty Indiana Pacers. It was just the second time this season the Celtics had the starting lineup consisting of Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford and Robert Williams.
It was the second meeting of the season between the two, with the Pacers defeating the Celtics at TD Garden in December, and they gave the C's a run for their money again Thursday night, pushing the game into overtime.
It was a back and forth game all night, with both teams posting new season-highs for points scored in a 142-138 shootout.
Despite a rough first half for Tatum, who finished with just six points on 1-of-8 shooting in the first half, the Celtics were able to put up 68 first-half points. It was Brown who led the way with 15 first-half points on 6-of-14 shooting, but it was the bench who helped keep Boston afloat.
Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon each poured in 13 first-half points on a combined 10-of-15 shooting. With Boston finally being fully healthy with the exception of Danilo Gallinari, White, who has started 51 games for the Celtics this season, was forced back to the bench, which shows just how deep this Celtics team is.
White was the Eastern Conference Player of The Week for Week 17, and is now coming off the Celtics' bench alongside Sixth Man of The Year frontrunner Malcolm Brogdon. It's crazy to think that the Celtics' backcourt just coming off their bench is better than some starting backcourts in the NBA.
That dominance of White and Brogdon was on display in Thursday night's win, with White finishing with 17 points on the night on 6-of-12 shooting, while also adding two assists and three rebounds. Brogdon finished with 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting, with seven assists and five boards.
The Celtics found themselves with a 10-point lead at the half, before the Pacers would come storming back behind a barrage of threes. Indiana would finish the night with 22 made three-pointers, which was just one shy of tying their franchise record. Fourteen of those 22 threes came in the second half and overtime, including eight in the third quarter.
Indiana took the lead in the third quarter behind 13 points from Myles Turner, who finished with 40 points, tying a career-high. Turner also knocked down eight threes, which set a new career-high.
With Indiana not going away, the Celtics needed an answer, and they got it from their two All-Stars in Tatum and Brown. Despite the off night shooting for Tatum, he would finish with a team-high 31 points, 25 of which came in the second half and overtime.
Brown, who finished with a team-high +16 plus-minus in the first half, poured in 15 points to finish with 30 on the night. It was the ninth time this season that the Jays each scored 30 points in the same game. Over the last 30 years, the only duo to record more such games in a season is Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal.
In overtime, Joe Mazzulla opted to go with Smart over White, and it paid off. Smart finished with seven points in overtime as he continues to step up big for the Celtics when it matters.
Boston went 10 men deep into its rotation, with all 10 making contributions. Sam Hauser finished with a career-high three blocks and a team-high +14 plus-minus. It will be interesting to see how Mazzulla manages minutes down the stretch, as Grant Williams did not see the floor in the second half or overtime.
In the end, it was the rebounding that made the difference for the Celtics. Boston outrebounded Indiana 51-37 and grabbed 20 offensive rebounds. The Celtics are now 26-5 when they win the rebounding battle this season.
The Celtics will have a chance to improve on that figure on Saturday night when they travel to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers, who currently rank 28th in rebounds per game.
