The Indiana Pacers kept things close, but couldn’t close the deal without Paul George, who sat with an ankle injury.
The Good: The defense was much improved. Without their best defensive player, the Pacers defended well all night. The Celtics only shot 44-percent from the field and were forced to settle for many contested mid-range jump shots.
Jeff Teague (with some help from Myles Turner) harassed Isaiah Thomas all night, holding him to 4 of 13 from the field. Unfortunately, the Pacers couldn’t keep Thomas or the rest of the Celtics off the foul line.
The Bad: The shooting. Also the fouling. But the shooting, mostly. The Pacers probably played well enough to win against the Celtics (who were also short-handed), but their 42-percent shooting performance doomed their prospects. Indiana was especially poor from downtown, shooting 6 of 27 from long range.
Even an average shooting performance from one of their wings probably would have made the difference tonight.
MVP: Myles Turner was the best player on the floor tonight, and finished with 17 points on 75-percent shooting. He defended the rim well, especially down the stretch, and was Indiana’s go-to guy in the closing minutes.
Coach Nate McMillan probably left him on the bench a little too long in the fourth quarter, and the Pacers weren’t able to complete the comeback.
LVP: C. J. Miles was having a decent night, but he picked up four fouls in a three-minute span to start the third quarter. The Pacers desperately needed his shooting without Paul George, and his absence sealed their fate.
X-Factor: James Young inexplicably scored 12 points in 16 minutes.