Celtics-Pacers takeaways: Threes bury C’s in blowout loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics dropped the second leg of their back-to-back as they were unable to keep up with the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
Indiana’s exploded for 39 points in the second quarter and didn’t look back as they went on to blow out the C’s, 128-107. That’s the most points Boston has allowed in a game since Dec. 3 when the Utah Jazz scored 137. It’s the Celtics’ first road loss in the past month.
Oshae Brissett had a career game for the Pacers with a game-high 27 points. Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Malcolm Brogdon added 22, 21 and 20, respectively.
Jayson Tatum led the C’s with 24 points while Jaylen Brown contributed 23 in the losing effort.
Why Jaylen Brown sees some of himself in Payton Pritchard
Here are three takeaways from the Celtics’ loss, which brings them to 36-27 on the season. They finish with a 10-2 record in February and will begin March with a Tuesday night matchup vs. the Atlanta Hawks.
C’s doomed by 3s
Indiana entered Sunday ranked 25th in the league in 3-point percentage (33%), but it was unconscious from deep in this one.
The Pacers hit 17 of their 33 3-pointers (51.5%) while the Celtics (12-for-43, 27.9%) couldn’t buy a bucket from long range. That proved to be the difference-maker in Boston’s worst loss since Dec. 10 when they fell to the Phoenix Suns by 21.
The entire Pacers starting lineup did damage, but the primary culprit was Brissett. The 23-year-old forward came out of nowhere to drain six of his nine 3s and finish with 27 points.
Haliburton went 4-for-6 from deep while Brogdon went 2-for-2. Seven Pacers players scored in double figures.
An off weekend for Celtics’ defense
The Celtics defense has been the best unit in basketball for the last two months, but this was a weekend Ime Udoka’s group will want to forget.
Boston allowed at least 27 points in each quarter of Sunday’s blowout loss, including a 39-point second quarter. In Saturday’s win over the lowly Detroit Pistons, it allowed 26, 28, and 28 in the first three quarters before buckling down in the fourth.
“We didn’t come out as physical as we wanted to,” Udoka said after Sunday’s loss. “What we showed at halftime was the lack of physicality.”
Perhaps Sunday’s effort was the product of the second night of a back-to-back. Still, there’s plenty that needs to be cleaned up before Tuesday’s return to TD Garden, especially when it comes to perimeter defense.
Payton Pritchard doubles down
Pritchard was a bright spot for the Celtics as the second-year guard picked up where he left off in Detroit.
After dropping 19 points (17 in the second half) to propel Boston to victory on Saturday, Pritchard stepped up when called upon again Sunday. He notched 14 points in 17 minutes off the bench
Pritchard shot 4-for-8 from 3 and added six rebounds to the stat sheet. It didn’t lead to a win this time around, but he went toe-to-toe with ex-Oregon teammate Chris Duarte (11 points) and continued to prove he can be relied on in crunch time.
