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Forgive Pascal Siakam if he takes personally his Indiana Pacers’ slow start and their chance to put things right against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

On all of their minds were the Pacers’ early-season struggles and the ease with which Boston swept them out of the Eastern Conference Finals last spring. But Siakam had more skin in this game. He had lost 0:13 against the Celtics since the start of the 2022/23 season. He faced them nine times last season and, incredibly, lost every game (four with Toronto, five after moving to Indiana).

That explains why Siakam entered the game with such determination and was so pleased after the Pacers survived overtime 135-132.

“It’s big” Siakam said before leaving the room. “We have to be the team that fights until the end.”

Siakam brought the “I” to “we” with 29 points, 11 rebounds, 6-for-8 shooting on 3-pointers and the Pacers’ final two buckets.

The first of those came after a timeout in OT, a jumper in the lane that stopped Indiana’s bleeding with 36 seconds left and tied the game for the ninth time at 132-132. The second was his game-winner, a three-pointer from outside that left the Celtics with just 6.1 seconds left.

GAME WINNER BY SPICY P 🔥🌶️ https://t.co/wNK6nSR3rp pic.twitter.com/JgTTy5Q2eL

– NBA (@NBA) October 31, 2024

Here are five takeaways from the Pacers’ win:

1. Two steps forward, one step back for Indiana

If the Pacers look at this from the right perspective, they can count it double when it comes to gaining traction this season. The first positive was the way their high-octane offense performed for most of the first three quarters. Until well into this phase, they were 96:72 ahead of the reigning NBA champions, who came into the game 4-0.

The ball and players were moving, Indiana did a good job of stopping Boston’s strong 3-point play, and All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton appeared more confident as his team gained more and more of the lead.

In overtime, coach Rick Carlisle and his team could take pride in fending off the champions’ late onslaught and showing just enough ingenuity to make it 2-3 while handing Boston its first loss.

The fourth quarter? Well, let’s put that on the Boston side of the ledger.

2. The Celtics defense almost nailed it

Sure, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 24 points in the fourth quarter. But it was the score that Boston took from Indiana down the stretch that nearly turned the outcome on its head.

Led by Derrick White and the pesky Payton Pritchard, the Celtics limited Indiana to 24 points and 7 of 22 shooting. Even worse, the pressure led to six turnovers by the Pacers. Boston also got some good playing time from reserve Neemias Queta, who had nine rebounds and went a team-high plus-18 in under 14 minutes.

So the rim became smaller for the Pacers, the ball became smoother and the Celtics finally caught Tatum’s step-back 3 from the front with 14.4 seconds left in regulation. It forced the home team to recover without any momentum.

3. Mathurin big off the bench

And for some Pacers fans unhappy with Bennedict Mathurin’s playing time, that’s a lot better than Mathurin being stuck To the Bank.

Two years ago, the 6-foot-2 winger, who traveled from Montreal to Arizona and Mexico, attracted some attention as a rookie as Sixth Man of the Year. He was doing better last season until a shoulder injury left him out in March.

So far this season? Mathurin’s playing time fell from nearly 28 minutes in the opener in Orlando to less than 14 minutes on Monday. Granted, Indiana has a strong roster and Aaron Nesmith overlaps with Mathurin’s skill set, but the third-year player seemed to be slipping down the Pacers’ pecking order. Maybe even made a scapegoat.

Until Wednesday. He played more than 42 minutes, scored 30 points and added 11 rebounds to cap off another Sixth Man campaign. He got to the finish line 11 times and made it 10 times, but what was most valuable was energizing a previously hesitant ball hitter. Haliburton wasn’t that guy yet, so Mathurin took over the gap.

4. Boston stays on a 3-point pace

They got off to a bit of a rocky start, missing seven of ten attempts in the first quarter. But in the end, Boston still scored 19 goals on 57 attempts. With 105 in five games, the Celtics are on pace to break the NBA single-season team record.

They have made more 3-point shots than their opponents in every game so far. And through the first four games, they were on pace to reach 1,763 — 400 more than Golden State’s record of 1,363 two years ago.

Now the Celtics are reaching a scoring rate that would give them 1,722 points by the end of the season. That would break the Warriors’ mark by more than 26%.

5. Celtics take a break, Pacers don’t

Good for the Pacers for putting this one away, however hectic it may be. Their difficult initial schedule continues with away games at New Orleans and Dallas, then home games against the Magic and the Knicks and a trip to Charotte. Then back-to-back games against Miami, then a three-game trip. In total, 10 of Indiana’s first 16 games are away from home.

For Boston, on the other hand, it could be two weeks before it suffers another loss. The Celtics play back-to-back games this weekend in Charlotte and then again in Atlanta. Then it’s at home against Golden State – Jayson Tatum’s Olympic revenge game, some say, with coach Steve Kerr on the other bench – and Brooklyn. Even a supposed blowout in Milwaukee on November 10th depends on the Bucks finding themselves.

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Steve Aschburner has been writing about the NBA since 1980. You can send him an email Herefind his archive here And Follow him on X.

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