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Pardon Pascal Siakam if he took his Indiana Pacers’ slow start and their chance to right things personally against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The Pacers’ early-season struggles and the ease with which Boston swept them out of the Eastern Conference Finals last spring were all on their minds. But Siakam had more skin in this game. He was 0-13 against the Celtics early in the 2022-2023 season. He faced them nine times last season and, incredibly, lost every game (four with Toronto, five after his trade to Indiana).

That explains why Siakam entered the game with such determination and was so satisfied after the Pacers survived 135-132 in overtime.

“It’s big,” Siakam said before leaving the floor. “We have to be the team that fights to the end.”

Siakam put the “I” in “we” with 29 points, 11 rebounds, 6-for-8 shooting on 3-pointers and the Pacers’ final two buckets.

The first of those came out of a timeout in OT, a jumper in the lane that stopped Indiana’s bleeding with 36 seconds left and tied it for the ninth time at 132-132. The second was his game winner, a 3 from the top, leaving the Celtics with just 6.1 seconds left.

GAME WINNER OF SPICY P 🔥🌶️ https://t.co/wNK6nSR3rp pic.twitter.com/JgTTy5Q2eL

— NBA (@NBA) October 31, 2024

Here are five takeaways from the Pacers’ win:

1. Two steps forward, one back for Indiana

If the Pacers look at this season in the right perspective, they can count it twice to find their footing this season. The first positive was the way their high-octane offense performed through most of the first three quarters. Deep into that stretch, they led 96-72 over the defending NBA champions, who came in at 4-0.

The ball and players were moving, Indiana did well to contain Boston’s potent three-point game and All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton became more assertive as his team’s lead grew.

In overtime, coach Rick Carlisle and his team could take pride in fending off the champions’ late rush and showing just enough ingenuity to make it 2-3, while handing Boston its first defeat.

The fourth quarter? We’ll put that on Boston’s side of the ledger.

2. Celtic’s defense almost did it

Sure, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined to score 24 points in the fourth quarter. But it was the score Boston took away from Indiana down the stretch that nearly turned the outcome around.

Led by Derrick White and the pesky Payton Pritchard, the Celtics limited Indiana to 24 points and 7-for-22 shooting. Even bigger, the pressure resulted in six Pacers turnovers. Boston also got some quality time from deep reserve Neemias Queta, who had nine rebounds and was a team-best plus-18 in less than 14 minutes.

So the edge narrowed for the Pacers, the ball got slicker and the Celtics finally caught up on Tatum’s stepback 3 from in front with 14.4 seconds left in regulation. It forced the home side to rally without any momentum.

3. Mathurin big off the bench

And for some Pacers fans unhappy with Bennedict Mathurin’s playing time, that’s a lot better than Mathurin being stuck on the bank.

Two years ago, the 6-foot-4 wing from Montreal, via Arizona and Mexico, drew some Sixth Man of the Year attention as a rookie. He continued to improve last season until a shoulder injury stopped him in March.

So far this season? Mathurin’s playing time dropped from nearly 28 minutes in the opener to less than 14 minutes on Monday in Orlando. Granted, Indiana has a deep roster and Aaron Nesmith overlaps with Mathurin’s skill set, but the third-year player seemed to be sliding down the Pacers’ pecking order. Maybe even made a scapegoat.

See you Wednesday. He logged more than 42 minutes, scored 30 points and added 11 rebounds to tip off another Sixth Man campaign. He reached the line 11 times and scored 10, but he was most valuable injecting energy into a previously hesitant ball club. Haliburton isn’t that guy yet, so Mathurin picked up the slack.

4. Boston stays on a three-point pace

They started off a bit rough, missing seven of ten attempts in the first quarter. But by the end, Boston was still hitting 19 from the arc on 57 attempts. With 105 in five games, the Celtics are on pace to break the NBA single-season team record.

They have made more three-pointers than their opponents in every game so far. And through the First Four, they were on pace to score 1,763 – 400 more than Golden State’s record of 1,363 set two years ago.

Now the Celtics are scoring at a pace that would give them 1,722 points by the end of the season. That would break the Warriors’ mark by more than 26%.

5. Celtics get a break, Pacers don’t

It’s a good thing the Pacers put this one away, however frantically. Their tough early schedule continues with road games in New Orleans and Dallas, followed by home games against the Magic and the Knicks, sandwiched around a trip to Charotte. Then back-to-back games against Miami, then a three-game trip. In total, 10 of Indiana’s first 16 games are on the road.

For Boston, on the other hand, it could be two weeks before it suffers another loss. The Celtics play a back-to-back against Charlotte this weekend and then one against Atlanta. Then it’s home to Golden State — Olympics revenge match Jayson Tatum, some might think, with coach Steve Kerr on the other bench — and Brooklyn. Even a supposed stalwart in Milwaukee on Nov. 10 depends on the Bucks finding themselves.

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Steve Aschburner has been writing about the NBA since 1980. You can send him an email herefind his archive here And follow him on X.

The views expressed on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Bros. Discovery.