Following their impressive run in the In-Season Tournament, the Indiana Pacers went on a cold stretch. But then they got hot again, winning six games in a row.
Unfortunately, their winning ways came to an end on Saturday night, as they suffered a tough loss at the hands of the Boston Celtics by a score of 118-101.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown absolutely torched the Pacers, as Indiana failed to find an answer for either one of them all night long. Tatum poured in buckets from the perimeter while Brown dominated the paint.
It was an ugly loss, so let’s take a look at two duds and one stud from the Pacers’ defeat against the Celtics on Saturday night.
Dud - Aaron Nesmith
This placement as a dud is a bit unfair to Aaron Nesmith, who played with amazing intensity against the Celtics. He even topped off his night with a great highlight dunk over Derrick White.
Unfortunately, Nesmith was tasked with guarding Tatum for a big part of the night, and he simply couldn’t keep up. Tatum was on fire all game, and nobody was able to stop him.
To make matters worse, Nesmith had a terrible offensive game. He ended the night with eight points, four rebounds, three steals, and one block but shot just 3-of-13 from the field and 0-of-7 from behind the three-point line.
Nesmith is often tasked with being the Pacers’ top perimeter defender, and he’s done a solid job in that role. But on Saturday night, Tatum was just too much for him to deal with.
Stud - TJ McConnell
It was tough to pick out a stud in this game, as there was nobody who played particularly well for the Indiana Pacers. The game was pretty rough all-around, as the Boston Celtics were dominant on both ends of the court.
Aaron Nesmith’s intensity stood out as a positive, but even he ended up being one of the two duds in this game because of how big of a game Jayson Tatum had, combined with his poor shooting performance.
So, instead of going with one of the regular players, we have to go all the way down the rotation to TJ McConnell to find our lone stud of the night from the loss to Boston.
McConnell only played 12:12 in this game, but in his minutes, he was effective. And more importantly, he made sure that his impact on the game was felt at all times.
The veteran guard made multiple hustle plays that kept the Pacers in the game when they could have been getting blown out by 20 or more points.
He ended the night with six points, one rebound, five assists, and three steals while shooting a perfect 3-of-3 from the field. It was a small-usage, high-impact game for McConnell.
Dud - Tyrese Haliburton
So far this year, Tyrese Haliburton has been one of the most impressive players in the NBA. He’s a sure-fire lock for an All-Star spot and has been one of the main reasons the Indiana Pacers have been winning on a night-to-night basis.
However, against the Boston Celtics on Saturday night, Haliburton wasn’t very effective on either end of the court, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
Haliburton ended the night with 17 points, six rebounds, seven assists, and five steals while shooting 5-of-17 from the floor and 2-of-9 from beyond the three-point line.
Boston did a great job slowing Haliburton down on offense, and they even managed to shut down his 11-game streak of putting up at least 10 assists.
That said, while Haliburton wasn’t as effective as he normally is on the offensive end, the real reason he finds himself as a stud in this game is because of his struggles on defense.
Jaylen Brown went at Haliburton on offensive all night long, getting into the paint at will by going straight through his chest. Haliburton wasn’t able to slow him down, and Brown was a huge source of Boston’s offensive success.
Haliburton’s struggles on the defensive end are something to note heading into the Pacers’ potential postseason run. Indiana needs to work on their defensive scheme in an attempt to help him on that side of the ball.