The shorthanded Celtics fell to the Indiana Pacers 98-96 Monday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for their second-straight loss.
Playing without Jaylen Brown, Payton Pritchard led the way with 23 points (10-of-22 shooting), eight assists while Derrick White added 18 points, five assists, Anfernee Simons scored 16 points off the bench and Neemias Queta chipped in 15 points, eight rebounds for the Celtics -- who dropped to 24-15 on the season and have lost three of their last four games.
Pascal Siakam scored 21 points to go along with eight rebounds and six assists, while Jay Huff tied his season-high of 20 points, and Andrew Nembhard added 13 points, nine assists for the 9-31 Pacers -- who have now won three in a row for the first time all year after losing 13-straight.
The Celtics were ahead 56-53 at the break before they went ice cold from the field to start the second half and trailed by as many 13, but used a 17-6 run to cut the deficit down to two heading into the final frame. Neither team committed a foul the entire quarter, making it the first time that has occurred this season in the NBA.
Playing from behind the whole fourth period, White tied it up for Boston 96-96 with 28.6 seconds left. On the ensuing play out of a Pacers' timeout, Siakam set a screen in order to get the ball back and hit a seven-foot, high-arcing leaning bank shot -- leaving 6.1 seconds on the game clock.
White missed what would have been the go-head 3-pointer as time expired and the Celtics were once again held to under 100 points in consecutive games for the first time since January of 2023.
In the end, Boston only knocked down 9-of-35 (26%) from 3-point range, while Indy connected on 16-of-37 (43%) from deep.
In his postgame presser, C's coach Joe Mazzulla answered questions with using the words "illegal screen," referring to the play he believed there was a missed call by the refs during what turned out to be the Pacers' game-winning basket -- as his entire press conference lasted just over 40 seconds before walking off the podium.
When asked by reporters if an illegal screen should have been called prior to Siakam's shot, Pritchard had a different take on the controversial ending.
"He made the shot. Maybe certain calls could have been made, but he made a bank shot, tough shot, " Pritchard told reporters. "You've got to live with that...good defense."
While Brown was in street clothes with back spasms, the All-Star was fined $35,000 by the NBA earlier in the day for his comments and rant about the officiating following the team's 100-95 loss to the San Antonio Spurs over the weekend.
The Celtics will continue their four-game road trip when they head to South Beach and face the Miami Heat (20-19) on Thursday night.
Game Notes:
Boston was 45% from the field compared to 46% shooting from the Pacers. The Celtics outscored the home team in the paint 45-38 and won the rebound battle 46-40. Both teams finished each with 12 turnovers respectively.
Joel Pavón
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