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After feeling like they gave away Game 1 to the Boston Celtics, the Indiana Pacers looked to even their semifinal series on Thursday. Indiana’s errors late in regulation two nights ago led to a Jaylen Brown miracle shot to force overtime. Jayson Tatum put a stranglehold of the game in the extra period to draw first blood.
The Pacers vowed to learn from their mistakes and put on a much better showing in Game 2. They did as promised, as they took a 27-25 lead after the first 12 minutes. The Celtics, though, unleashed a crippling 17-0 blast to open the second quarter. Rick Carlisle called two timeouts during the stretch to stop the bleeding.
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Eventually, the Boston Celtics methodically pulled away until they coasted to a 126-110 victory to take a 2-0 series lead against the Indiana Pacers.
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Here's a look at where the Indiana Pacers could have done things differently in Game 2.
Three things Indiana Pacers could have done differently
#3 Crash the boards
The final stats showed the Boston Celtics outrebounding the Indiana Pacers 40-37, including 13-to-12 in the offensive glass. The difference isn’t too significant, but the timing of those rebounds was a game-changer.
During the Celtics’ 17-0 run to open the second quarter, they hauled down a handful of offensive rebounds that extended their possessions. Indiana’s defense held up on some occasions, but it couldn’t close out plays by securing the ball after a Boston attempt.
Al Horford, Jrue Holiday and Jaylen Brown all snared a couple of those during that blistering stretch that turned the game around.
#2 Paint defense
If the difference in rebounding didn’t look decisive, this one is just too glaring to ignore.
The Boston Celtics pounded the paint to score 54 points to the Indiana Pacers’ 34. Boston is known to jack up shot after shot from deep, but it can also be overwhelming in the shaded lane.
The Pacers are fifth in the playoffs in points in the paint, averaging 44.0 ppg, while the Celtics are 13th with 39.6. On Thursday, the Celtics beat the Pacers at their own game by repeatedly driving to the rim. Myles Turner has to do a better job of patrolling the shaded lane or it could get ugly again.
When the Celtics were hitting their 3s, as they did in Game 2, and surgically pounding the ball inside, the Pacers almost had no chance of beating them.
#1 Win the turnover battle
In Game 1, the Indiana Pacers blamed their turnovers as the biggest reason they lost. They coughed up the ball 22 times to the Boston Celtics’ 15.
Indiana took care of the ball better on Thursday, but Boston was again better in that department. The Pacers had four more errors (16-12) than the Celtics, but every one of them was costly.
Turner was again a culprit, as he was tied for a game-high four. Tyrese Haliburton, who handles the ball almost every time the Pacers have the ball, didn't commit one.
