Jayson Tatum saves the game to help Boston Celtics stop the Indiana Pacers comeback

Tonight’s matchup between the best team in the NBA, the Boston Celtics, and the new look Indiana Pacers, was must see TV. What looked like a blowout in the first half ended up being an exciting game till the final buzzer. In the end, a magnificent comeback by the Indiana Pacers fell short by amazing defensive stops by the Celtics. Boston went on to defeat the Pacers 129-124 at the TD Garden behind clutch defensive plays by Jayson Tatum.

With no Al Horford tonight, the Celtics relied heavily on their starters and they all stepped up. Jayson Tatum led the with 30 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks, each coming in the last minute of the game. Tatum’s last block on Aaron Nesmith helped save the game for the Boston Celtics. Despite being called a foul at first, head coach Joe Mazzulla challenged the call and ended up winning that challenge. This ultimately led to a jump ball situation and an Obi Toppin missed 3-point attempt instead of 2 free throws for Nesmith, and the Celtics were able leave victorious. Derrick White also had a huge contribution, finishing with 24 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. His block was massive too, as it came within the last minute of the game as well. On an Aaron Nesmith 3-point attempt, White swatted the shot out of bounds to leave the Pacers with 3 seconds on the shot clock to inbound the ball and shoot a shot. Jaylen Brown finished with 25 points while Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday each ended the night with 17 points each.

For the Pacers, All-Star Tyrese Haliburton returned from a 5-game absence. He was on a minutes restriction, so he didn’t play any minutes in the 4th quarter. In only 22 minutes, Haliburton finished with 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 10 assists. Aaron Nesmith had a monster game, ending with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists on 65% shooting. Recently acquired Pascal Siakam scored 23 points while grabbing 6 rebounds.

This win improves the Celtics to 37-11, pushing them 4.5 games ahead the 2nd seeded Milwaukee Bucks. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games and will look to build on their 2-game winning streak as they play against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.

On the other hand, this loss drops the Pacers to 27-21 on the season, which puts them at 6th in the Eastern Conference. Despite losing tonight’s game, the Pacers should feel good about themselves considering they fought hard and kept the match close at the end, all while not having their leader Tyrese Haliburton for the full fight. The Pacers are 4-6 in their last 10 games and will look to turn things around on Thursday night when they face off against the New York Knicks.