The Indiana Pacers are on a streak. After winning five games in a row, they now have lost their second consecutive game. To make matters worse, their next contest is against the same foe they faced Friday evening.
After suffering a six-point loss at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder on the day after Christmas, the Pacers fell to the defending NBA Champions and reigning Eastern Conference Finalists, the Boston Celtics, 142-105.
It was the second night in a row that th opposing star matched their season highs against Indiana, as well. Thursday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 45 points while connecting on all 11 of his free throws. Friday night, Jaylen Brown scored 44 points at the TD Garden.
The two teams will do battle against each other once again on Sunday night in Boston. Hopefully for the Pacers, the result is different.
For now, let's take a look at the winners and losers in Indiana's 32nd game of their season.
Winner: Tyrese Haliburton (sorta)
After struggling to score just four points Thursday night, almost any performance was bound to be better in this one. That it was.
Haliburton finished the game with a team-high 19 points and was one assist shy of another double-double. He made three field goals behind the arc after missing all four attempts against the Thunder.
With four rebounds, the All-Star point guard also connected on all four of his attempts from the free-throw line. Unfortunately, Haliburton was slightly outplayed by Celtics backup point guard, Payton Pritchard.
One of Haliburton's defensive assignments scored 18 points, tallied 10 assists (one more than the Pacers' starting point guard), and was two rebounds shy of a triple-double off the bench.
This explains to a degree why Haliburton's plus/minus was a team-low (-27). Indiana was outscored by Boston in three of the four quarters on Friday night.
Loser: Ben Sheppard
Inserted into the starting lineup with Andrew Nembhard sitting out once again, the second-year guard struggled to make any type of impact on the game.
In the 20 minutes he played, Sheppard scored only two points. He missed all four of his looks from deep.
During the last five games he has played in, only once has the Pacers' role player scored more than five points. In fact, Sheppard has scored in double figures twice this season.
If he is to be trusted by head coach Rick Carlisle in the wake of Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith missing time, Sheppard has to step up. Performances like this make it hard for Indiana to defeat the rival that eliminated them from the playoffs last spring.
Winners: Thomas Bryant and Jarace Walker
Obi Toppin suffered an ankle injury in the Pacers' last game. Bryant has made a nice mid-season acquisition from Miami since joining the team.
He had a season-high 12 points and also snagged seven boards. Bryant swatted one of the Celtics shots away, too, while coming up with a steal.
What's the most fascinating part about his game on Friday, the Pacers' backup center played in fewer minutes than starting shooting guard, Sheppard. Bryant made five of his seven goals including a pair of threes.
Walker, another player in his second year in the league, has really come on strong as of late for Indiana's second unit. With the departure of Jalen Smith during free agency and injuries to both James Wiseman and Isaiah Jackson, the playing time has opened up for the former first-rounder.
15 points and five assists later, Walker had his second game in a row with at least 12 points or more. He accomplished that feat once in his previous 10 games.
Losers: Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner
The twin towers for the Pacers played well together in their previous game on Thursday night. Sadly, they combined for just 22 points on Friday night against the Celtics.
Siakam was a rebound away from another double-double. However, it took him 24 minutes to produce 14 points on five-of-eleven shooting from the floor.
All five starters for Indiana had a double-digit negative rating for their plus/minus. Siakam's was -17 and Turner's was -23, six points lower.
In his 600th career game as Pacer, it was only the second time this month and the fourth time all season that Turner did not score at least 10 points.
After recording five blocks against the Thunder on Thursday, Turner failed to reject any of the Celtics' shot attempts. In addition to committing a team-high three turnovers, the former Texas Longhorn failed to record an assist.
Loser: Indiana's rebounding ability against the Celtics
The Pacers did a number of correct things to give themselves a shot at winning in Boston. They committed 12 turnovers, conceding 14 off of them. That's not bad in a 37-point blowout.
Indiana tallied 27 assists on 38 made field goals. Boston had 31 assists to complement their 47 buckets. The Pacers even managed to take 25 free throw attempts (four less than the Celtics).
One of the most glaring and disappointing stats is how badly Carlisle's team got out-rebounded by the Eastern Conference juggernauts.
The planking was a 13-rebound difference. While Indiana clutched 13 boards off their own misses, Boston had five more than that. The Celtics collected 52 rebounds and the Pacers failed to reach 40.
Six players from the defending NBA champions hauled in five rebounds or more. Jayson Tatum had 13 rebounds to complement his 22 points.
The Pacers won against the Celtics earlier in the season, 135-132 in overtime. Indiana out-rebounded Boston 57-51. Giving up more than 50 boards a game against a rival like this one doesn't allow for an easy win.
Siakam, Turner, and company will get another crack at the Celtics as they play for the third time this season on Sunday. Indiana was swept by Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals about seven months ago.
A win in their next game would bring the Pacers closer to the .500 mark. It would also give them the confidence to beat another Eastern Conference rival, the Milwaukee Bucks, on New Year's Eve.