The first two games of the 2023-24 season were playoff previews for the Boston Celtics. Close wins over second round (and beyond) playoff teams the New York Knicks and Miami Heat showed the Celtics can keep their composure when games are close. The last two games were the complete opposite, the opponents had absolutely no chance. After a blowout win over the Washington Wizards, the Celtics followed that up with a near record setting win over the Indiana Pacers. The Celtics scored the second most points in a single game in franchise history with 155 against the Pacers. EIGHT different Celtics had double figures in points led by Jayson Tatum's even 30. The difference in this game and the previous was the fourth quarter. Against the Wizards, the bench got crushed by Washington's bench but this time Sam Hauser and the others poured it on. Dalano Banton scored 11 points in garbage time as the Celtics ran away with this one 155-104 at TD Garden.
The Celtics set the tone right away when Jayson Tatum passed to Jrue Holiday in the paint and he bulled his way in to score the first points of the game. Andrew Nembhard answered at the other end with a baseline jumper and the Pacers kept it close 8-6 two minutes into the game. Then Jayson Tatum got free for a three pointer followed by a Holiday three of his own. With the score 14-6, Jaylen Brown drew a double team then passed to a wide open Krystaps Porzingis for a slam dunk. Then they reversed it as Porzingis drew a double team, passing to Brown for the slam. With the score 18-8, Brown hit a baseline jumper. The Pacers answered on the other end and Holiday hit another 3. The Celtics were up 23-12 when Bruce Brown hit a three for Indiana. Old friend Aaron Nesmith got open for a basket but Porzingis found Al Horford open for three with 5:30 remaining. The Pacers got within 28-21 with 3:21 remaining in the quarter when Tatum went off the glass on a foul for an old fashioned three pointer. With the score 33-23, Derrick White hit a three pointer from what felt like half court. After a Pacers make, Tatum dished it to Sam Hauser for a three. The Celtics led 41-27 when White hit a three at the buzzer to end the quarter with the Celtics up 44-27.
In the second quarter the Pacers were down 46-30 when Tatum hit a fadeaway jumper. With 9 minutes left in the quarter, Pritchard hit a nice baseline layup. A minute later Tatum hit a layup to put the Celtics up 20. The Pacers answered but Holiday hit a baseline jumper to bring it back to 20. After a Pacers miss, Brown hit a jump shot at the free throw line. With 4:22 left in the half, Brown gathered his own miss and dunked it to go up 64-42. Nesmith hit a layup to make it 69-50 but Porzingis answered with a three on the other end with 1:28 left. Tatum hit a three with 35 seconds left and the first half ended with the Celtics up 75-54.
One minute into the third quarter, Tatum hit a stepback three to put the Celtics up by 25. After a Pacers miss, Holiday found Porzingis for a big dunk. After a Pacers timeout and subsequent miss, Brown hit a fallaway jumper. The Celtics were up 89-59 when Holiday found White for a layup. Then with the score 96-65, Tatum dribbled through the entire team and hit a layup. The Celtics were up 100-69 with 3:24 left when Tatum went baseline again off a dish from White. With the game pretty much over, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla emptied the bench with 2 minutes left. 30 seconds later Pritchard dished to Svi Mykhailuk for a three pointer. The Celtics ended the third quarter up 109-71, what a massacre.
Now against the Washington Wizards, the Celtics bench pretty much got wiped out to make the final score a lot closer than it should have been. Not this time! Sam Hauser hit a three to open the fourth quarter before the lead got to 45. With 8:25 left, Pritchard went coast to coast for a bucket and a foul. With the score 126-82, Pritchard passed it to Hauser for another three pointer. With 5:24 left, Dalano Banton hit a nice jumper for the Celtics. With four minutes left in the quarter, Pritchard dished it to Lamar Stevens for a slam dunk. With three minutes left, Pritchard dished it to Banton for a good layup. The Celtics ended up scoring the second most points in a single game in franchise history to win 155-104.
Hero of the Night is Jayson Tatum. He buried the Pacers under an avalanche of 30 points including 9 of 10 from the line. He also had 12 rebounds and 4 assists.
Bawful Report: Nothing
End Rant:
Once again the Celtics beat up an inferior team but this time the bench played a lot better. Pritchard was a one man wrecking crew in garbage time, ending with 15 points and 9 assists. Banton had 11 points and 3 rebounds and Hauser had 17 points throughout the game. Quite frankly when Porzingis is healthy, the Celtics are almost unguardable. If you double team Brown, Tatum or KP then the other two are open. Holiday & White are more than capable of hitting shots if they're open as well and that makes them very tough to defend. A team like the Pacers clearly aren't able to handle the Celtics firepower. It would be nice if the Celtics could get a bench ace or two at the deadline but right now they're still a tough team to beat. Starting the season 4-0 is always a good thing. The Celtics now travel to Brooklyn for a Saturday night showdown with the Nets. The game begins at 8:00 PM at the Barclay Center.
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