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Celtics Survive OT with Win vs Pacers

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 36 points and added 12 rebounds as the Celtics earned a 133-128 overtime victory against the visiting Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. Tatum scored 10 points in overtime, including six straight that gave the top-seeded Celtics a 127-123 lead with 42.9 seconds to play.

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Jrue Holiday added 28 points and Jaylen Brown finished with 26 points in the win. After Brown drained a corner 3-pointer that made it 117-117 with 6.1 to play in regulation, Tyrese Haliburton missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer and the game went to overtime.

Haliburton had 25 points and 10 assists, and Pascal Siakam finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists for the Pacers. Myles Turner added 23 points in the loss.

Indiana made 9 of 10 free throws in the game. Boston was 24 for 30 from the free-throw line.

The Pacers committed 22 turnovers.

The Celtics scored the game’s first 12 points and led 34-31 after one quarter. Boston had a 47-37 lead after Holiday’s jump shot with 8:01 remaining in the second quarter. Indiana tied the score, 61-61, on Haliburton’s 3-pointer with 1:19 left in the half. It was 64-64 at halftime.

Turner led all scorers with 18 points in the first half.

Indiana had its first lead of the game after Haliburton’s layup broke a 64-64 tie with 11:25 remaining in the third quarter. The Pacers stretched their lead to five, but Boston regained control and led 87-75 after Tatum’s three-point play with 4:50 left in the third capped a 13-0 run.

The Pacers used a 9-0 spurt to pull within four points, 92-88, late in the third. Indiana trailed 94-93 entering the fourth after Haliburton banked in a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third.

–Field Level Media

Pacers vs. Celtics: Whole Lotta Offense

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Based on past performance, it’s unlikely that generating good offense will be a problem for either team when the Indiana Pacers visit the Boston Celtics for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Tuesday night.

Sixth-seeded Indiana led the NBA in scoring during the regular season, when it averaged 123.3 points per game. Top-seeded Boston averaged 120.6 points per contest in the regular season, which ranked No. 2.

The Pacers shot 67.1 percent from the field — an NBA playoff record — when they beat the host New York Knicks 130-109 in Game 7 of the conference semifinals Sunday. Tyrese Haliburton led the way with a 26-point performance.

“I’m just proud of this group,” Indiana’s Myles Turner said. “This is the most special group I’ve been around since I’ve been here. We all play for each other. There’s no ego. When you have guys who can score 15-plus points every single night — seven, eight guys — there can be a lot of ego involved with that, and we were able to nip that in the bud a lot early in the season.

“And obviously having Pascal (Siakam) coming here midway through the season, adding his leadership and everything he’s able to provide for us offensively and defensively has been huge. … We’re not done yet.”

Haliburton averaged a team-high 20.1 points per game during the regular season, but Siakam is the team’s leading scorer in the playoffs (21.2). The Pacers have scored at least 140 points 11 times this season.

“I think it’s just the old-school way of thinking that you can’t play this fast in the playoffs, but I think opportunistically you can do it,” Haliburton said. “I think if we’re able to get stops, of course we can.”

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown do most of the heavy lifting on the offensive end for the Celtics. Through 10 playoff games Tatum is averaging 24.3 points and 10.4 rebounds. Brown is averaging 23.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in the postseason.

“We understand what we can do individually,” Tatum said. “Each night just kind of presents different challenges and being ready and up for the task to do whatever is needed because both of us are capable on the basketball court to do literally everything.”

Indiana dispatched the Milwaukee Bucks in the opening round before it eliminated New York. Boston advanced by defeating the Miami Heat in the first round and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference semifinals. Each series went five games.

The Celtics will likely be without center Kristaps Porzingis, who will reportedly miss at least the first two games of the series with a calf injury. Porzingis was injured during Game 4 of Boston’s series against Miami. The Celtics have a 5-1 record in the playoffs when Porzingis hasn’t played.

“You know that he wants to play,” Boston’s Jrue Holiday said. “You know that he wants to get out there and play with his teammates, but then seeing him out there and seeing him working has been good. And honestly just hope that he recovers fast so that we can get him back out there.”

Boston won three of five meetings against Indiana during the regular season.

“Really excited to get back out there and play,” Holiday said. “Seems like we’ve been off for a while, so excited to get out there Game 1, kind of get it started.”

–Field Level Media

Raptors Trade Siakam to Pacers

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INDIANAPOLIS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Pacers and Toronto Raptors are finalizing a deal that will send All-Star forward Pascal Siakam to Indiana in exchange for Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora and three first-round draft picks, multiple media reports noted on Wednesday.

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Two of the first rounders are 2024 picks — one of which is Indiana’s — and the third is 2026 from the Pacers, per ESPN. The other 2024 first-rounder is the lesser of a Utah/Houston/Oklahoma City pick, according to ESPN.

The New Orleans Pelicans, the third team in the deal, are sending Kira Lewis Jr. to the Raptors and a second-round pick to Indiana, according to reports.

Siakam’s agent Todd Ramasar confirmed the trade in comments to another media outlet.

“I’m excited that Pascal is getting a first class opportunity with the Pacers, being paired with Tyrese (Haliburton) and Myles (Turner) and being coached by a great coach in Rick Carlisle,” Ramasar told Andscape.

Siakam, 29, is in the final year of a four-year, $136.9 million contract. He’s set to hit free agency in 2024-25 barring an extension with the Pacers. ESPN reported that Siakam is eager to work out a new deal with the Pacers in the summer.

The two-time All-Star is averaging 22.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 39 starts this season. He’s shooting 52.2 percent from the floor. He has played all seven-plus seasons in Toronto. He averages 17.4 points for his career. He was selected No. 27 overall by the Raptors in the 2016 draft.

Brown, 27, was in his first season with the Pacers after winning a title with the Denver Nuggets last season. He’s averaging 12.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 33 games (all starts) this season. The Raptors will be his fourth team in six seasons in the league.

Nwora, 25, is averaging 5.2 points in 18 games (no starts) this season.

Lewis, 22, is averaging 2.9 points in 15 games (no starts) this season. The Pelicans selected him No. 13 overall in the 2020 draft.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Meet Pacers Monday Night

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INDIANAPOLIS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Celtics will be seeking back-to-back victories over the Indiana Pacers when the teams meet Monday night in Indianapolis.

The Celtics received 38 points, 13 rebounds and six assists from Jayson Tatum and led wire to wire in a 118-101 road victory against the Pacers on Saturday. The loss ended Indiana’s six-game winning streak.

Tatum made a season-high eight 3-pointers and was 14 of 23 from the field. Jaylen Brown added 31 points in the win.

The Celtics led by 16 in the first half, but the Pacers were within three points, 84-81, after three quarters. Boston opened the fourth quarter with a 16-4 run, and Indiana failed to get within single digits after that.

“We started playing with the right intentions,” Tatum said. “We had too many turnovers in the first half and that’s what got them back into the game. This team — they feed off turnovers and playing in transition. Just really taking care of the ball and knowing who we wanted to attack.

“It’s going to be tough (Monday),” Tatum continued. “They’re going to make adjustments. We have to see what we can do better. It’s like a playoff series on the road. We won Game 1. Gotta get ready for Game 2.”

Indiana, which leads the NBA in scoring (126.8 ppg), was held to its lowest point total of the season in Saturday’s loss. The Pacers were 8 of 42 from behind the 3-point arc (19.0 percent).

“We missed a lot of shots,” Indiana guard Tyrese Haliburton said. “They’re a really good defensive team, but we shot a lot of shots that we like. I mean, I’ll go back and watch film so I can really tell you, but felt good with a lot of the shots that we shot today. Just didn’t capitalize on them.”

Bennedict Mathurin led the Pacers with 20 points in the loss. Haliburton added 17 points, six rebounds, seven assists and five steals, but he was 5 of 17 from the field and 2 of 9 from 3-point range.

The Celtics missed nine of their 19 free throws but outrebounded Indiana 56-38.

“We were right there,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. “We were down one and gave up a two-pointer at the end of the third quarter. We were down three after three and hadn’t played particularly well.

“We never had a lead in the game and we’re doing some good things defensively, but the rebounding is a big problem.”

The Celtics overcame the loss of center Kristaps Porzingis, who headed to the locker room in the first quarter with an eye injury after he was hit in the face by Aaron Nesmith. Porzingis, who is averaging 19.8 points per game, warmed up before the start of the second half but did not return to the game.

Boston’s Al Horford came off the bench and finished the game with 10 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.

“We just can’t keep taking (Horford) for granted,” Tatum said. “Best teammate I ever had. Ultimate professional and somebody we can count on night-in and night-out, and he proved that again tonight.”

The Pacers may have Bruce Brown back in the lineup Monday. Brown has been dealing with a bone bruise on his right knee and didn’t play Saturday, which was Indiana’s second game in as many nights.

Boston has won two of three games against Indiana this season.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Make Roster Moves

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BOSTON – As expected, the Boston Celtics re-signed reserve forward Sam Hauser and reserve 7-2 center Luke Kornet. Boston was pleasantly surprised to have Kornet return to the club. “We are thrilled that Luke chose to come back,” noted Celtics President of Basketball Operations, Brad Stevens. “Luke is a skilled big who can play off the roll and is a good rim protector on defense. On top of that, he’s always added value as the consummate pro who puts team above self.”

The Celtics also signed 2022 second round draft pick J.D. Davison to a two-way contract in time to have him participate in the annual NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. A 19-year old out of Alabama, Davison (6-3, 195), competed in 33 games (six starts) as a freshman in 2021-22, averaging 8.5 points on 46.3% shooting (30.1% 3-PT), 4.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.0 steals in 25.8 minutes. He made the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Team.

In a final transaction before the NBA Summer League began, the Celtics confirmed what was widely reported on NBA Draft night and made public their acquisition of guard Malcolm Brogdon from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for reserve center Daniel Theis, guard/forward Aaron Nesmith, forwards Malik Fitts and Juwan Morgan, shooting guard Nik Stauskas and a conditional 2023 first round draft choice.