Pascal Siakam scores 29 points and makes tiebreaking 3 to send Pacers past Celtics 135-132 in OT
INDIANAPOLIS — Pascal Siakam scored 29 points, including the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 20.6 seconds left in overtime, and the Indiana Pacers rallied to beat the Boston Celtics 135-132 on Wednesday night.
The Celtics had a 10-point lead in the third quarter, but Siakam sparked a furious comeback. He also had seven assists, including one that led to Buddy Hield’s tying basket with 2.9 seconds left in regulation.
T.J. McConnell had 21 points and seven assists for the Pacers, who ended a two-game losing streak and earned a victory in the first game under new head coach Jim Boylen. Andrew Nembhard had 19 points and eight assists, while Hield finished with 16 points.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 34 points and Jaylen Brown added 27, but the defending Eastern Conference champions lost their fourth straight game and dropped to 25-27.
Boston had a chance to tie or take the lead with less than 10 seconds left in overtime. Derrick White missed a 3-pointer, and then after grabbing his own rebound, he traveled.
The Pacers, playing with 11 players after Myles Turner and Daniel Theis were ruled out with injuries, missed 11 of their first 12 shots and trailed by as many as 18 points in the first quarter.
But Indiana never backed down.
McConnell started a 19-3 run to close out the first quarter, scoring six points in the flurry.
“You never get rattled in a game, regardless if it’s going great or not,” McConnell said. “Every possession is a must.”
The Celtics responded early in the second quarter by outscoring Indiana 14-6, but the Pacers had an answer again. They used a 9-0 run to tie the game, with Nembhard leading the charge. The game went back-and-forth, and Boston took a 71-69 lead into halftime.
Boston led 103-93 after Marcus Smart hit a 3-pointer with 3:34 left in the third, but Indiana clawed its way back again.
Hield tied the game at 109 with a jumper, then Siakam hit back-to-back jumpers to give the Pacers the lead.
Tatum had a chance to win the game in regulation, but he missed a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left. McConnell then gave the Pacers the lead with 2.9 seconds to play, setting the stage for overtime.
“Our focus in the second half was really just, ‘Come together, compete, and go at ’em and try to win this thing,'” Boylen said. “The key thing is they trusted each other.”
After the game, Tatum acknowledged he wasn’t the only one who didn’t perform well enough to win the game.
“We all weren’t sharp enough and played in a game that was too close,” Tatum said. “I wasn’t sharp enough to be able to lead us to a win.”
The Celtics led by 10 after a quick basket by Malcolm Brogdon to start overtime, but again Indiana had a response. Siakam had three straight baskets to tie the game.
It came down to Siakam’s 3-pointer after a well-designed inbounds play that included several screens and gave Siakam an open look from the top of the key.
The Celtics shot 49% from the field but committed 23 turnovers, which led to 25 Pacers points.
The Celtics’ turnover woes haven’t been a new development this season, so that’s something they need to work on, coach Joe Mazzulla said.
“This team doesn’t value possessions enough and isn’t committed enough to that yet, but they’ll get there,” he said. “And until they do, the ups and downs and inconsistencies that we’re seeing will be very consistent.”
**NOTES:** The Celtics are now 14-10 away from home, including a 2-4 record in their last six road games. … Turner suffered a sore right foot, but an MRI did not reveal any major injury, coach Joe Mazzulla said. … Brown has been a scoring machine, averaging 31.3 points over the Celtics’ last four games. … The Pacers play again on Friday against Orlando, their first of a back-to-back.
