jQuery(document).ready(function() { addByline("Marc D'Amico", "Celtics.com", "Marc_DAmico"); keysToTheGame(); });
Key Moment
Jayson Tatum has received a lot of flack this season for his ability to hit shots when the game is on the line. He should receive nothing but praise after his clutch basket Monday night.
Boston would have suffered a brutal home loss to the Pacers had Tatum not saved the day at the end of regulation with a game-tying jumper. He splashed home a beautiful baseline jumper with 1.8 seconds left to send the game to overtime, where the Celtics eventually triumphed by a score of 101-98.
The final play unfolded after Tatum caught an inbound pass from Josh Richardson right in front of Indiana’s bench with 6.2 seconds left. He immediately faced up on defender Torrey Craig, as Lance Stephenson crept over for a double-team.
Tatum took one dribble to his left – directly into that double-team – and pulled up from 20 feet out for a fallaway jumper. His favorite player growing up was Kobe Bryant, and his shot was reminiscent of the ones the late legend used to drain for the Lakers back in the day.
Boston’s two-time All-Star wing rose up and released the ball with 3.1 seconds left on the clock. It floated through the air on a perfect arc before falling through the net with 1.8 seconds left to tie the score up at 89-89.
Tatum didn’t even celebrate the basket in real time. He chest-bumped Richardson as they headed into a timeout, but he knew there was more work to be done.
The Celtics, buoyed by five points from Jaylen Brown and four from Tatum, put in that work by controlling the overtime session. They never trailed and pulled ahead by five points on multiple occasions before holding on for the 101-98 victory.
Key Player
Jaylen Brown has gotten into the idea of setting new career highs during his last two games. Two days after setting a new career high with 11 assists during a triple-double performance against New York, Brown logged a new career high of 15 rebounds Monday night against Indiana.
In addition to owning the glass, Brown also poured in a game-high 26 points to go along with six assists and a blocked shot. He did not shoot the ball at a high percentage, making only 11 of his 26 attempts, but he did can three of his six 3-pointers, including two big ones during the fourth quarter.
Box Score Nuggets
- Three Celtics (Jayson Tatum, Robert Williams and Jaylen Brown) logged double-doubles.
- Tatum finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
- Williams finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.
- Brown finished with 26 points, a career-high 15 rebounds and six assists.
- Domantas Sabonis logged a triple-double with a game-high 23 rebounds, 11 points and 10 assists.
- Torrey Craig led all reserves with 19 points.
- Indiana's bench outscored Boston's 50-23.
- Boston limited Indiana to just 38.3 percent from the field and 29.7 percent from 3-point range.
- All eight Celtics who logged more than eight minutes of playing time tallied at least one assist.
Quote of the Night
Ime Udoka on Boston's victory