Indiana Pacers comeback bid falls just short in overtime loss to Boston Celtics

The Pacers dropped their first game after the All-Star break

There are no moral victories in the NBA, especially for a team chasing a play-in spot like the Indiana Pacers. But tonight's Pacers loss to the Boston Celtics is as close as a team can get to feeling good about a loss.

After a mediocre first half in which the blue and gold trailed by as much as 16, Indiana battled like crazy for the rest of the night. They were on fire in the third quarter and scored 39 points, trimming Boston's lead down. They defended well in the fourth quarter and took the lead several times, and they ultimately sent the game to overtime. The Pacers put together a strong, well-rounded performance in the second half, and it allowed them to come back from 16 down.

"We were down at halftime but came out with a big run to start the third and put ourselves in position [to win]," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said after the game. Indiana scored 25 points in the first five minutes of the third quarter to get themselves back into the game.

Despite a magnificent push to tie the game up at the end of regulation, the Pacers could not find advantages in the overtime period. The game kept getting chippier and physical as the night progressed, and in overtime, that favored the Celtics and their strong halfcourt offense. Boston scored 17 points in the extra period and won 142-138.

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Prior to the game slowing down in OT, the physical nature of the game benefitted the Pacers. They were hitting hard, diving for loose balls, and getting into it with Celtics players. That strategy was working for them. As guys like Bennedict Mathurin and Tyrese Haliburton increased their energy level, the rest of the team followed suit.

"The defining plays in this game are going to be physical plays," Carlisle remembers telling his team during timeouts in the second half.

In the end, Boston responded well to that style in overtime. The Pacers struggled to get stops or grab rebounds, and the Celtics scored on nearly every trip down the floor in the extra period on their way to the victory.

"We just didn't get enough stops," Haliburton said after the game. He was frustrated with his own play on some of the final possessions of regulation, though the All-Star guard finished with 22 points and 14 assists.

Rebounding ended up being the Pacers downfall, as it has been often this year. The Celtics had 20 offensive rebounds, including one by Jayson Tatum that allowed him to put in the game-sealing bucket in overtime. Indiana has been poor on the glass all season, but they were particularly bad tonight.

It led to 22 second chance points for Boston, and that ended up being the difference. "Rebounding, obviously, is the thing that hurt us the most tonight," Pacers center Myles Turner said after the game.

Speaking of Turner, he was brilliant. The big man finished with 40 points, which tied a career high. He made eight threes, a career-best mark, grabbed 10 rebounds, and had two assists. Indiana won his minutes by nine points, and he was excellent all night.

In the end, though, the Pacers just didn't quite have enough. They needed one more bucket or one more stop late, but they couldn't get it. Their slower first half ended up being their undoing, and they couldn't put together a finishing blow despite an encouraging second half.

"We don't want any pity, but I think we're taking a step in the right direction," Turner said. The Pacers had a lot of positives in the game despite the loss, and they looked great for the final 29 minutes.

On top of excellent nights from Turner and Haliburton, the Pacers got a solid contribution from Buddy Hield, who finished with 18 points. Rookie guard Bennedict Mathurin had 19 points, seven boards, and four assists and played one of his best defensive games of the season. Despite a sub-20 point scoring outing, Mathurin had a better-than-usual game in his campaign.

The Pacers fell to 26-35 with the loss, which puts them just a half game ahead of the Orlando Magic for 13th in the Eastern Conference. They will look to get back in the win column against Orlando on Saturday.

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