The Indiana Pacers’ effort to up their win streak to eight Saturday night failed with the Boston Celtics in town. The visitor’s didn’t arrive in town until around 2 a.m. having played the night before, but they left with a win, the first for head coach Brad Stevens in his hometown on an NBA bench.
The Celtics (29-36) trailed early, but took the lead for good with just under two minutes to play in the opening frame and fended of the Pacers, 93-89. Not only does it end Indiana’s seven-game win streak, their longest of the season, but it also was the first time in eight games an opponent shot 40 percent or better (42.2 percent).
Indiana (30-35) was unable to get in a groove all night, coughing the ball over 17 times and getting out-rebounded by five.
“It just felt like we really couldn’t find that edge tonight from one all the way down,” said Pacers guard George Hill, who finished with a game-high 30 points — a new season-high for the Indianapolis product. “Sometimes you got those games. Normally, in the past, we were able to win games like that.”
Pacers coach Frank Vogel credited the Celtics’ defense, especially their ball pressure. They even spent considerable time watching video of it Saturday morning during shootaround.
“It’s just tough to simulate,” he said. “… We got to handle pressure better.”
[VIDEO: Brad Stevens on Butler, Chris Holtmann, and what he misses about the college game]
That’s the second straight game that ball pressure and turnovers have been an issue.
Hill succeeded along the perimeter, connecting on 11 of his 18 attempts (and notably all six of his free throws), but the Pacers were too outside oriented. The movement wasn’t like it has been during this run — just 16 assists on 34 hoops. They were outscored in the paint, albeit just by two, and their centers contributed a combined seven points.
“You got to take what the defense gives you,” Vogel said. “Obviously we got to work for position. We want to get more at the basket for sure.”
Oh, and the tremendous bench production that Vogel described as “playing out of this world” lately? That wasn’t there, either. The Pacers dropped to 3-14 this season when the bench was outscored, like they were Saturday evening (31-30).
Meantime, Celtics starting center and Washington, Indiana native Tyler Zeller thrived. He hit all but two of his 10 field goal attempts and finished with 18 points and seven rebounds in the win. He credited coach Brad Stevens for giving his guys a lot of freedom to dive into their skill-set, such as when Zeller put the ball on the floor en route to a layup. That one, well, even he laughed about afterwards.
“We got to be better defensive than we were tonight,” Hill added. “… We just got to get back to playing great team defense.”
The Celtics, who won their fourth game in a row, efficiently spread the floor on offense, which makes them difficult to defend — and to their credit, they got the Pacers out of what they wanted to do.
“It was just a tough game for us,” said veteran David West, who managed 11 points. “We couldn’t get in a good rhythm or flow. … We weren’t able to execute well enough to get a win.
For the Pacers, this ends an encouraging stretch of games of all wins, granted it was against weaker teams. But wins are wins, they need all they can get in their hunt for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They’re mostly healthy, have the thought of Paul George making his grand return (still unknown when), and continue to fight on the mindset of making a fifth straight playoff appearance.
“Takeaway is no days off,” Hill said of the last few weeks. “We’re playing for a playoff spot. We can’t have downfalls like we had tonight.”
Despite the loss, the Pacers are still clinging to the seventh seed with 17 games to be played.