The Indiana Pacers hope to end a three-game losing streak Wednesday night when they host the undefeated Boston Celtics in a matchup between teams that met in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals.
Indiana opened this season with a victory over Detroit, but Monday’s 119-115 setback against Orlando was the team’s third consecutive loss. The Pacers overcame a 13-point, third-quarter deficit to take an eight-point lead in the fourth, but Orlando received a 50-point performance from Paolo Banchero and was the better team down the stretch.
“We didn’t win the game, but we moved in a better direction than the first three games,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. “That’s a positive. … We were better (against Orlando). We had something in our hands that we lost. That’s disappointing. We did a lot of good things, and we have to continue to clean up the things that we have to clean up.”
Pascal Siakam had a team-high 26 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers, who lost four straight to the Celtics in last season’s conference finals. Tyrese Haliburton had 19 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in the loss to the Magic on Monday.
The Pacers missed 10 of their 30 free-throw attempts.
“I do feel encouraged by this performance as a group,” Haliburton said. “You know, we’ll move on from here. We understand that our pace hasn’t been as high as it was last season, but we’re just trying to do a better job of speeding the game up and playing more random. I thought we did a good job of that.
“Another opportunity against the best team in the league (in Boston). If you’re a competitor, you love that. I think it’s another opportunity for us to grow.”
Boston, the defending NBA champion, remained unbeaten through four games by defeating Milwaukee 119-108 on Monday. Celtics guard Payton Pritchard had one of his best games as a pro by coming off the bench to score 28 points in 28 minutes. He made 10 of 14 field-goal attempts, including 8 of 12 3-pointers.
“The guy is just good,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. “He kept us in it in the first half, and he’s just finding different ways to impact games. … He’s just a competitor. I love watching him play.”
Pritchard has scored in double figures in each of the last three games. After Monday’s performance, he was tied for the NBA lead in made 3-pointers with 19.
“Payton is a killer,” Boston forward Jaylen Brown said. “He’s always looking to put pressure on a defense. If you don’t put pressure on him and you don’t guard him, he’ll light you up.”
Brown scored 21 of his team-high 30 points in the second half.
“He knows when to take over a game,” Mazzulla said. “He knows when to get to his spot. He came out of a timeout and got an and-one. He just knows how to play within the offense. So I like just watching him picking spots well. I thought he did a great job of that in the second half.”
Wednesday’s game will be the start of a four-game road trip for Boston.
–Field Level Media
