Game Preview: Pacers at Celtics (Game 2)

Thursday, May 23 at 8:00 PM ET at TD Garden

The Pacers were seconds away from winning Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday night at TD Garden, but ultimately came up just short. They will have a shot at redemption on Thursday, as they return for Game 2 against the Boston Celtics.

Despite falling behind 12-0 at the start of Tuesday's game and trailing by double digits midway through the third quarter, the Pacers showed their trademark resilience in Game 1, rallying to take a five-point lead with under two minutes to play.

They led 117-114 and had the ball with 10 seconds to play, but turned it over on an inbounds pass in their own backcourt. On the ensuing possession, Celtics forward Jaylen Brown hit a corner three over Pascal Siakam to tie the game. Tyrese Haliburton missed a potential game-winning shot on the other end and Boston ultimately prevailed in overtime, 133-128.

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The Pacers were frustrated with the way they let Game 1 slip away, but also knew that they had done a lot of things right to put themselves in position to steal a game on the road against the East's top seed.

"We did so many good things in this game that it came down to a couple mistakes at the end," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said.

"Today we played great for about 47 minutes," Haliburton added. "Just didn’t sustain for 48. We’ll go back, watch some film, and there will be good and there will be bad. We’ll learn from it and will be a lot better in Game 2."

RELATED: Late-Game Miscues Cost Pacers in Game 1, But They Showed They Belong >>

The biggest issue for Indiana on Tuesday was taking care of the basketball. The Pacers had an uncharacteristic 22 turnovers, leading to 32 points for the Celtics on the other end. Two turnovers in the final minute of regulation loomed large, but it was an issue the entire night. Aaron Nesmith had a pass intercepted by Jayson Tatum leading to a fastbreak dunk for Brown on the opening possession of the game and the Blue & Gold had three giveaways in overtime.

While the disappointment from Game 1 stings, the Pacers vowed to not let it linger. They have bounced back well from losses all season. In fact, they dropped Game 1 in both of their two previous playoff series, but came back to win both series.

"We’ve been a tough-minded, resilient team really for almost the entire second half of the year," Carlisle said. "We have to continue with that and come back in here on Thursday night."

Pacers: G - Tyrese Haliburton, G - Andrew Nembhard, F - Aaron Nesmith, F - Pascal Siakam, C - Myles Turner

Celtics: G - Jrue Holiday, G - Derrick White, F - Jaylen Brown, F - Jayson Tatum, C - Al Horford

Pacers: Bennedict Mathurin - out (right shoulder labral tear)

Celtics: Xavier Tillman - questionable (personal reasons), Kristaps Porzingis - out (right soleus strain)

May 21, 2024: Jaylen Brown's corner three with 5.7 seconds remaining forced overtime, where the Celtics used an 8-0 run to come away with a 133-128 win in Game 1.

Tyrese Haliburton (25 points, 10 assists, and three steals), Pascal Siakam (24 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists), and Myles Turner (23 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists) all recorded double-doubles for Indiana in the loss.

Jayson Tatum led all scorers with 36 points to go along with 12 rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Jrue Holiday added 28 points, seven boards, eight assists, and three steals for Boston, while Brown finished with 26 points, seven boards, five assists, and three steals.

“Just really encouraged with how hard we fought to get back into the game and to get a lead at the end. It was very unfortunate that we weren’t able to close it out. But there’s a difference between being disappointed and being dismayed. We’re disappointed, but we’re not dismayed. We’ve got to be ready to jump back in this thing tomorrow night.” -Carlisle on takeaways from Game 1

“I feel like we’ve been in situations like this. It’s the third series of this year that we’ve been in. I don’t know feel like the series is won in one game. We’ve just got to learn from it and correct our mistakes.” -Pacers forward Obi Toppin on the response to Game 1

“I was pissed yesterday. Very frustrated at myself just because I felt I like that one get away, I feel like I was a big reason for that getting away from us as a group. But I think what I’ve learned over this playoff run is that you’ve just got to move on. The minute you start dwelling on things that happened in the past, things can get bad. We understand we still have another game here. We could go home with the series tied and we like our chances at home against anyone. It’s just moving on and understanding that that’s one game. You take the good with the good, the bad with the bad, and you move on.” -Haliburton on his takeaways from Game 1

“I love this team, I love these guys. They have fought tooth and nail all year long. The things that they did to just qualify for one of the top-six spots to avoid the Play-In. We had to win high-pressure games down the stretch of the season. Looking back, you could look at it as a very daunting thing, but there was a great amount of growth. We’ve walked into three series as an underdog and on the road. You’ve just got to rally, you’ve got to take these challenges, you’ve got to rise above some of the challenges that happen, things that happen with officiating calls you don’t agree with during a game, this that or the other, and keep moving on the next play.” -Carlisle on the Pacers' resilience

“I think that’s what we do. I think that’s who we are and part of our identity as a group. We do a really good job of moving on when things don’t go well. Where we can get better is moving on when things do go well. In this instance, obviously felt like that’s one that got away from us and you lose. Feel like we’ve done a good job of responding all year. Even in that game, we started down 12-0, in the third quarter they got up like 10, we just kept responding. And they know we’re not going anywhere. We’ve just got to continue to sustain playing the right way for 48 minutes.” -Haliburton on the team’s resilience

“Our guys know they can compete with any team in the NBA. Boston just happens to be exceptionally better based upon their record and the statistical things that they’ve done this year and all that stuff. We respect them and we know that we’re going to have to play at an extreme high level to win games in this series.” -Carlisle on competing with the Celtics

“Not getting too high and not getting too low, that’s really the biggest thing for me. Throughout the course of a series, you’re going to have good games, you’re going to have bad games…Throughout this playoff run, I’ve had some really good games, some of my (worst) games of the whole season, to be honest. I think just understanding that that happens through the course of this and win, lose, good game, bad game, they’re all lessons. It’s my first playoff run. I’m learning a lot. Yesterday, honestly it sucks that it happened, but it’s good for me. It’s really one of the first playoff games that I really feel like, man, I f—d it up, it’s on me. It’s good to learn. I’m 24, I’ve got a lot of time, but I’m trying to win right now. Just trying to learn every day, learn from every game.” -Haliburton on how he’s learned to handle the mental challenges of the playoffs

“We’ve gotten to this point by fighting for every centimeter and millimeter of the court for 48 minutes a game. And that’s how it’s got to be. Going into Game 2, we’re just going to have to be more defiant about it and we’re going to have to be better.” -Carlisle on the team’s mentality heading into Game 2

Broadcast Information (TV and Radio Listings >>)

TV: ESPN - Mike Breen (play-by-play), Doris Burke (analyst), JJ Redick (analyst), Lisa Salters (sideline reporter)

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan - Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Eddie Gill (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (studio host)

The Eastern Conference Finals will shift to Indianapolis when the Pacers host the Celtics for Game 3 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday, May 25 at 8:30 PM ET. Find Tickets >>