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    • Pacers show maturity in OT after collapse
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    Pacers show maturity in OT after collapse

    Vaseline Posted on

    INDIANAPOLIS — Derrick White knew as soon as the ball hit his back and he turned to see Tyrese Haliburton pick it up out of the corner of his eye that he had been caught. The Celtics’ two-time all-league defenseman had his butt turned toward the baseline so he could more quickly find someone he could trap or foul so he could somehow extend the game, and Haliburton immediately saw what was possible and threw it off White. as soon as the referee handed it to him and then ran untouched down the sideline as the clock ran out.

    Haliburton didn’t run away cackling with joy after performing the brutal maneuver, but it looked like he should have. It was a fitting way to wrap up a win that was both a startling early-season disappointment and a daring breakout, a game the Pacers controlled, dominated, squandered and then won back.

    The Pacers led by as many as 24 points in the third quarter and were still ahead by 19 until the 7:27 mark of the fourth quarter, but they saw that advantage completely collapse in a barrage of turnovers and Celtics 3-pointers, including one by All-NBA wing Jayson Tatum with 14.1 seconds left to force overtime. The Pacers somehow kept it together after that painful disintegration, though, coming back in overtime with a Pascal Siakam 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds left, delivering the decisive blow in a 135 win -132.

    Beating the defending NBA champions and earning a small measure of revenge in the rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference finals after three straight losses in a shaky 1-3 start to the season suits the Pacers method in recent years because they have had a knack for following up confusing defeats with stunning victories over league powerhouses. But they were particularly proud of this because on many occasions in recent seasons – including three games in the Eastern Conference finals in which they had meaningful leads – they have struggled to get off the canvas in games when they have collapsed . . This time they took a stunning blow and recovered from it.

    “I can’t say we really had the opportunity to do that last year,” Haliburton said. “If we went into overtime, I think a majority of people would say the game was probably over and we had no chance of winning that game. For us to finally figure it out was big. … It’s part out of the maturity of this group. Figuring it out, having the conversation that the game isn’t over yet, it’s easy to be quite negative about those overtime because you felt like we had won the game for the most part, you know in this. exactly same position here exactly the same team. It’s a big win for us.”

    After the way they played in the first four games of the season, it was a big bet for the Pacers to have as much of a lead as they did in the first place. Their once-historic offense seemed completely out of sync, their already troubled defense seemed unimproved, and they struggled on the glass, leading to a closer-than-expected win over Detroit and a loss to the Knicks in New York . and a nail-biting loss to the short-handed 76ers in the home opener. They showed signs of progress against the Magic in Orlando on Monday, but still lost it thanks to a 50-point explosion from Paolo Banchero.

    On Wednesday, they missed two starters for all or most of the game — center Myles Turner with an ankle sprain and guard Andrew Nembhard with knee tendinitis that flared up before the game and ended his night after five minutes of action — but still managed to both sides for three-plus quarters to the league’s most talented team. They shot 50% or better in each of the first three periods, scored 1.20 points per possession or better in each of the first three periods, and also held Boston under 50% in all three. Despite the collapse, they won the rebounding battle 57-51, shooting 48.1% from the floor, while the Celtics shot 40.4%, outscoring them 62-44 in the paint.

    “There was a different attitude, a different atmosphere,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “We did rebound and loose ball drills this afternoon during our preparation. No one does that, but this is the world we live in where rebounding missed 3s have become the ultimate Achilles heels for us. We were last in the league in rebounding those , so we had to do something.”

    Individually, the Pacers got huge performances from players who needed them. Siakam continued his development and became perhaps the Pacers’ most reliable offensive weapon, with Haliburton admittedly struggling with his outside shot. The two-time All-NBA power forward scored 29 points on 11 of 20 shooting, drilled 6 of 8 three-pointers, also grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out five assists. After struggling against Banchero in the first half on Monday, he was among the rotation of players that took on Tatum and Jaylen Brown on Wednesday. Tatum scored 37 points and Brown had 25, but they combined to shoot 21 of 55 (38.2%) from the floor.

    “Just being cool, calm and collected for us has been really important, especially with the way I’m playing right now, we really need him to steady the ship,” Haliburton said. “He’s doing a great job.”

    Third-year guard Bennedict Mathurin’s reaction to the shorter playing time earlier this week was also great. The former first-team All-Rookie pick played just 14 minutes and made just one field goal attempt in Monday’s loss to Orlando after struggling in 21 minutes against Philadelphia, posting a -14 plus-minus. On Wednesday, he scored 30 points on 9 of 17 shooting, but also grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out four assists in 42:38, leaving Nembhard and the board and others in foul trouble.

    “I know I can rebound,” Mathurin said. “Defensively, I think I’ve made some big steps and I feel like I can do better. Just being in the team, having my teammates back, things we’ve been focusing on the last few days.”

    When things went wrong in the fourth quarter, things went bad across the board. They were outscored 38-24 in the period, 28-9 in the final stretch of the match (7:27) and 17-4 in the final four minutes of the match. They made just 7 of 22 field goals in the fourth quarter while turning the ball over six times, with Mathurin and Siakam each making two painful giveaways. The Celtics made 6 of 14 three-pointers, with Tatum, White and Brown combining to make five of them and scoring each of their last 24 points.

    Carlisle took it as a sign that the Pacers aren’t supposed to adhere to conventional wisdom when it comes to finishing games. They tried to extend possession and run out the clock – even rolling the ball from the baseline to near the center line, starting the game clock but not the shot clock to bleed the clock. Carlisle acknowledged that this may have been the wrong approach.

    “The cautionary tale about this game is that we can’t lose our pace,” Carlisle said. “We can’t lose our ball movement. We can’t lose our aggression. We’re not an iso team. We’re not suited or set up to be an iso team. When you slow down against Boston, this is where they are capable of.” They can strike very quickly. We saw it last year. Ironically, it may be a bit counter-intuitive, as the game gets shorter towards the end. The game needs to slow down. But the truth is that for some teams you have to keep playing fast, or even faster if you can.”

    Still, the Pacers played just enough to keep the game from ending in regulation. Haliburton hit a big mid-range jumper with 21 seconds left to increase the three-point lead before Tatum tied it and gave the Pacers a chance to regroup.

    Life wasn’t easy once they did, but the Pacers got stops in overtime, holding the Celtics to eight points on 2 of 9 shooting in the extra frame. They didn’t turn the ball over, and starting with a Haliburton three-pointer early in the period, they got big plays when they needed them.

    Siakam hit a turnaround jumper that tied the match at 132 with 37 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, sophomore guard Ben Sheppard grabbed a rebound after a Tatum miss and had to battle with the Celtics to maintain possession. He eventually got stuck, but won a jump ball with the Celtics’ Payton Pritchard, giving the Pacers the ball to set up Siakam’s go-ahead 3-pointer. Brown airballed a 3-pointer on the next possession before Haliburton passed the ball to himself off White’s back to put the game away.

    “I just thought the guys stuck together,” Siakam said. “We had four games against those guys (in the playoffs) where we felt like three of them were the same situation we are in now. I think it was just a good learning and growing experience for us, putting ourselves back in to bring that situation with the turnover, not taking care of the ball and being able to come out with a win is big.

    And it shows the Pacers have no intention of letting a tough early schedule and shaky start fall into a hole as they became the first team to beat the defending champions in the 2024-25 season.

    “Basically we had to survive a tornado,” Carlisle said. “But the boys showed a lot of character and a lot of courage.”

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