An Eastern Conference finals rematch Wednesday night in Indiana produced a result that series didn’t:
A Celtics loss.
Five months after sweeping the Pacers to reach the NBA Finals, Boston overcame a 24-point second-half deficit but couldn’t complete the comeback, losing 135-132 in overtime at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
A Pascal Siakam 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds remaining in the extra period, sandwiched between misses by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, proved to be the difference. Siakam finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds in the win, with Pacers reserve Bennedict Mathurin adding 30 and 11 in a career performance off the bench.
Tatum paced Boston with 37 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals, but he went cold in overtime, missing his final four field goals (all 3-pointers). Ditto for Brown, who went 0 for 2 from the floor and 0 for 2 from the free-throw line in OT and was 1 for 11 from 3-point range in the game. He finished with 25 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks.
It was the first loss of the young season for the reigning champion Celtics, who entered Wednesday as one of three remaining NBA unbeatens.
Derrick White channeled his inner Payton Pritchard in the waning seconds of the first quarter, draining a buzzer-beating 29-footer that trimmed Indiana’s lead to 35-31. It was one of just three 3-pointers Boston made in the first quarter an uncharacteristically low number for a team that set NBA records for 3-point attempts and makes over its first four games.
White was the Celtics’ most efficient scorer (23 points, 8 for 9, 5 for 5 from 3), with Pritchard adding 16 points on four triples.
The Celtics found more success from 3 in the opening minutes of the second quarter, with Al Horford, Pritchard (twice) and White all hitting from distance as Boston cut a nine-point deficit down to one. But they struggled to score from anywhere as the first half wound down, missing 10 consecutive field goals after White’s second 3.
Boston shot just 37.3% from the floor in the first half, and though it grabbed eight offensive rebounds (including six from backup center Luke Kornet) its touch around the rim was lacking. The Celtics went just 10 for 24 on shots in the lane and 6 for 14 inside the restricted area. The faster, more efficient Pacers doubled them up in points in the paint (40-20 at halftime) despite playing without injured starting center Myles Turner.
Indiana also outscored them 17-7 in transition and took a 10-point lead into half — larger than any deficit Boston had faced before Wednesday.
That lead kept growing in the third quarter. Siakam opened the second half with back-to-back 3s, and Mathurin, who sat out last season’s East finals with a torn labrum, couldn’t miss. The 22-year-old scored 14 of 17 Pacers points during one four-minute stretch. Tyrese Haliburton also asserted himself with 12 third-quarter points after a 1-for-8 first half.
The Pacers led by as many as 24, but a long-awaited Celtics surge brought them back within striking distance. They closed the quarter with a 14-4 run that featured a Sam Hauser 3 and eight points from Tatum, including a driving layup at the buzzer. Indiana led 100-86 entering the fourth.
A 3-pointer by Ben Sheppard with 7:27 remaining looked like a potential dagger. But that’s when the Celtics, down 19 at the time, locked in. After a missed Pritchard 3, Boston proceeded to score points on 11 of its next 13 possessions.
Brown sank two free throws and then drove for a dunk. Tatum hit a 3. White hit two, the second bringing the Celtics back to within single digits. The Pacers then proceeded to botch four consecutive possessions with an offensive foul, a travel and two turnovers, courtesy of steals by White and Brown. Brown turned his swipe into a dunk that made it a three-point game with 1:04 remaining.
After two Tatum free throws followed by a Haliburton answer — the only Pacers field goal in the final five minutes of regulation — Tatum received a pass from Pritchard and buried a game-tying, step-back, straightaway 3. Haliburton’s would-be winner rang iron as time expired, and the teams went to overtime tied 124-124.
Hauser returned to action Wednesday after missing three games with a back injury. With a full bench for the first time since opening night, 11 Celtics players saw meaningful minutes, including second-year pro Jordan Walsh.
Center Neemias Queta didn’t check in until the fourth quarter but was excellent after he did. The 7-footer played 14 consecutive minutes, not leaving the floor until the final 30 seconds of overtime, and the Celtics outscored the Pacers by 18 points during that span, with Queta grabbing four offensive rebounds.
Walker signing overseas
Lonnie Walker IV is taking his talents to Lithuania.
After failing to crack the Celtics’ regular-season roster out of training camp, the veteran wing plans to sign with EuroLeague club Zalgiris Kaunas, his agent told ESPN’s Shams Charania and Bobby Marks on Wednesday.
Per the terms of the Exhibit 10 tryout contract he signed with Boston, Walker could have earned a bonus if he played an undisclosed number of games with the Celtics’ G League affiliate. The 25-year-old said early in training camp that he would be “perfectly fine” with a G League assignment.
But after being waived ahead of the Celtics’ season opener and going unclaimed, Walker chose to pursue other opportunities overseas. His deal with Zalgiris Kaunas includes an NBA buyout clause that expires on Feb. 18, per ESPN, allowing him to join an NBA club if one chooses to sign him before that deadline.
Walker played in four of Boston’s five preseason games and saw substantial minutes in two of them, notching nine points, seven assists, four rebounds, two steals and a block against Philadelphia and 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting against Toronto.
Because the Celtics are well above the NBA’s luxury tax threshold, permanently signing Walker, even for the veteran minimum, would have cost the team upward of $10 million between salary and tax penalties.
After his release, Walker tweeted: “I’m only 25 all in due time! The marathon continues. I know the stars will align. Self belief is the best belief. All apart of the story. Stay tuned
