Post-Game Grades: Pacers survive scary second half, beat Celtics in Boston

The Indiana Pacers lead by as much as 26 points, but they needed some late-game heroics to finish off the Boston Celtics.

After heading into the half up 21 points, the Boston Celtics were able to the Indiana Pacers lead to just 4 points heading into the final quarter. Luckily, the Pacers were able to come away with the “W” after some key plays down the stretch.

December 18, 2017- a date which has haunted Pacers fans for nearly two months. It was a day where Indiana was brutally reminded: you can never be too careful in the NBA.

Today, the Pacers met the Celtics again, this time in Boston. The game went about a billion times better, although it is hard to get much worse than what Indiana experienced in these two’s last matchup.

The Pacers came out of the tunnel firing. They shot just over 61% from the field (opposed to Boston’s 23.1%), and were able to finish out the first quarter with a 30-16 lead. Also, Victor Oladipo made this his 44th consecutive game with a steal or a block with this play resulting a nasty throwdown.

By the end of the second quarter, everything seemed to be going to plan. The Pacers were up 59-38, they were winning the rebounding battle (27-20), and Oladipo seemed to be (mostly) recovered from his illness. But most of all, the Pacers had held superstar point guard Kyrie Irving to a whopping FIVE POINTS.

Then the third quarter came.

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Boston came out and did, honestly, what we figured they would do. They dominated the third quarter, and by the end of it, had cut Indiana’s 21-point halftime lead into a mere 4 points.

Despite only having a 4-point lead, Indiana looked determined to keep it. Despite hitting zero three-pointers, the Pacers were able to outscore the Celtics 21-19 in the game’s final quarter. It was a hard fought game on both ends, but the Pacers were able to get back the game they quite literally “threw away” in late December.

The Good: The Pacers did a great job of snagging boards. Despite rebounding being one of the team’s bigger struggles (23rd in the NBA in rebounds per game), Indiana was able to out-rebound the Celtics 53-38. Indiana also did a great job of limiting All-Stars Al Horford and Kyrie Irving to 5 combined first-half points.

The Bad: While the Pacers had a great first-half, the second-half left a few things to be desired. The Pacers shot 11% from beyond the arc, and turned the ball over seven times. Also, they were blocked six times, while only blocking the Celtics once in the final half.

MVP: Victor Oladipo. The All-Star had 35 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 steals. ‘Nuff said.

LVP: Uhhhh, if I had to pick one…maybe CoJo? He did have 7 assists and a great hustle play to help win Indiana the game, however, starting and finishing with zero points is definitely less-than-stellar in my book.

X-Factor: I DON’T KNOW IF IT WAS THE “X-FACTOR” BUT THIS WAS AWESOME:

Next: Pacers check down at trade deadline

For their next game, Indiana takes on the New York Knicks in Indy this Sunday at 5 p.m.