From start to finish, Celtics aim for focus
game isn’t any more or less important than the beginning of the game,” mazzulla said. “And so i’ll say it again, like, they outscored us by four at the end of the first quarter. they outscored us by 12 at the end of the third quarter. And so those are the things that you have to work on before you even get to that situation. And that’s why we were in that situation, because of the detriment at the end of the quarters, which is something that they take advantage of.”
the celtics led, 34-26, with less than a minute left in the first quarter when indiana’s pascal Siakam found Obi toppin at the top of the key on a dribble handoff. toppin was well beyond the arc, but he is also a 40 percent 3-point shooter.
tatum and Jrue Holiday had a brief moment of miscommunication while determining how to account for toppin, and the forward drilled the 3-pointer.
the ball went through the net with 42 seconds left, putting the celtics in their sweet spot for the two-for-one chance they typically stalk. ideally, they want to take the first shot with about 32 seconds to play, guaranteeing themselves a decent look at the end of the quarter.
but in this case, Holiday brought up the ball slowly and fired a crosscourt pass toward Sam Hauser that was easily intercepted by toppin. the celtics were a step slow in their rotations during the ensuing possession, and Siakam ultimately found toppin for an easy layup.
if this mini 5-0 burst had been reversed, the celtics would have taken a 13-point lead to the second quarter. instead, their advantage had been whittled to 3.
“i thought at the end of the first quarter, end of the third quarter, i think we had five turnovers, three or four of them live-ball, which gave them opportunities,” mazzulla said. “i thought when we were spaced properly, when we had great screens, i thought we got really good looks.”
in the third quarter, the celtics held a 92-81 lead with just over two minutes left. A powerful close could have given them control of the game.
but boston missed three consecutive 3-pointers, as it failed to score and also helped ignite transition chances for the relentless pacers. two missed free throws by brown did not help, either.
With 13 seconds left, pacers guard t.J. mcconnell slithered into the lane and converted an off-balance runner. the celtics could have held the ball for the final shot, but that opportunity evaporated when Hauser was called for an illegal screen.
there was plenty of luck involved when tyrese Haliburton double-clutched and banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer that pulled his team within 94-93. but with some more sound execution the celtics could have ensured that he never even got that chance.
“You’ve got to understand why you won,” mazzulla said. “You also have to be susceptible to the reasons why you could lose, and get better at those every day.”