Celtics Out of the Tournament After Loss to Pacers
The Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers battled in a playoff atmosphere in the first game of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament Knockout Round on Monday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The Pacers won 122-112 to move to the semifinals in Las Vegas on Thursday night.
The loss dropped the Celtics to 15-5 on the season, while the Pacers improved to 11-8.
The Celtics and Pacers tipped off in a game that meant a little bit more than just a regular-season win.
With 16 lead changes and 15 ties throughout the game, the Celtics and Pacers superstars traded buckets with Boston’s largest lead coming at the end of the first half when they led Indiana by seven. On the other side of the court, the Pacers’ largest lead was 11 in the third quarter where they outscored the Celtics 37-23 in the frame.
Tyrese Haliburton was the difference maker for Indiana =, recording his first career triple-double scoring 26 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and adding 13 assists.
Former Celtics forward Aaron Nesmith was strong off the bench for Indiana recording 14 points in 31 minutes.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown led the way for the Celtics. Tatum scored 32 points, shooting 13-for-26 from the field. Before fouling out in the final seconds of the game, Brown scored 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
— Brown scored 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Celtics before fouling out of the game with 10.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
— Hauser was solid off the bench for the Cs, knocking down five shots from beyond the arc for 15 points. He also grabbed six boards in 20 minutes of playing time.
— Tatum recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 32 points and 12 rebounds.
FanDuel Sportsbook placed Hauser’s chances of hitting four or more three-pointers in the contest at +280. The Celtics forward defied the odds by hitting 5 for 6 from deep in the game. A $100 bet on Hauser would have resulted in a $380 reward.
The Celtics will return home on Friday to face the winner of the New York Knicks-Milwaukee Bucks game at TD Garden. The tipoff time has yet to be determined.
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Tyrese Haliburton stats today: Pacers star shines with first-career triple-double to defeat Celtics in In-Season Tournament
The Pacers hosted the Celtics at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis and everything about the “win or go home” atmosphere delivered. The court was bright, the crowd was rocking and Indiana, powered by rising star guard Tyrese Haliburton, proved why it is one of the most exciting young teams in the league.
Haliburton has become an NBA League Pass darling amidst a breakout season that has not only looked like an All-Star-level leap, but one that has his name popping up in MVP discussions.
He went into this contest averaging 27.0 points and a league-leading 11.8 assists per game, drawing frequent comparisons to two-time MVP Steve Nash for the way he affects the game as a prolific playmaker.
On a national stage, with no overlapping games and all eyes on the IST, Haliburton didn’t waste the opportunity.
The 23-year-old completely took over in the second half to lead the Pacers past the tournament-favorite Celtics and advance to Las Vegas for the highly anticipated NBA Cup Final Four.
Haliburton had missed the Pacers’ last game with an upper respiratory infection, and he was still feeling ill ahead of this contest. He shed the questionable tag just ahead of tip-off, allowing the rising star to show out in his first playoff-like atmosphere.
It wasn’t the prettiest of starts for Haliburton. The Celtics had defensive stopper Jrue Holiday hounding him out of the gate. They scrambled like madmen to try and slow down Haliburton and the Pacers’ fast-paced offense in transition and it was working at first.
At the half, Haliburton had only seven points and two assists, and Indiana trailed by seven points. He stated after the game that he was gassed heading into the locker room and needed to adjust his inhaler.
Haliburton must have taken a breather during the half because he came out scorching earth in the third quarter.
For those counting at home, Haliburton scored or assisted on 24 of the Pacers’ first 27 points to start the second half, giving Indiana a seven-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown started to flip a switch to help the Celtics get back into the contest, but every time Boston got close, Haliburton had an answer.
When Tatum hit a free throw to give the Celtics a lead with 4:19 to play, Haliburton responded with a filthy stepback 3 that had Holiday — one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA — on skates.
A few possessions later Tatum delivered another clutch midrange bucket to tie the game with under two minutes to play, but Haliburton countered with what would become a game-sealing four-point play dagger to sink Boston’s NBA Cup hopes.
The moment wasn’t too big for Haliburton because Haliburton was the moment.
He finished with his first-career triple-double, going for 26 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds and zero (!) turnovers to help the Pacers advance to Las Vegas for the IST semifinals on Thursday, Dec. 7.
In the process, Haliburton furthered his case as the best pure point guard in the NBA today.
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