2019 Playoffs

indkgrand

pacers-106-celtics-110-game-4

Pacers 106, Celtics 110 (Game 4)

indmmontieth

They aren't in the midst of a routine challenge, however. Down 3-0 to Boston in their first-round playoff series following Friday's 104-96 loss, the Pacers face the season's ultimate must-win game on Sunday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Lose, and the season is over. And for a team stocked with seven veteran players with expiring contracts, "over" takes on added meaning.

No NBA has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series, although it's happened in the NHL and Major League Baseball. The ABA Pacers nearly did it in 1974 when the last team to include their All-Star nucleus of Mel Daniels, Roger Brown, Freddie Lewis, and George McGinnis dropped the first three games of their second-round series to Utah, came back to win the next three, but dropped Game 7 in Salt Lake City by 22 points. Three NBA teams also have come back from a 3-0 deficit to force a Game 7 before losing.

The Pacers are in no position to be thinking about making history by winning four straight games, however. Avoiding the ignominy of being swept out of the playoffs, with the added jolt of it happening on their home court, is enough of a challenge at the moment.

PLAYOFF CENTRAL: Track the Pacers' Postseason Run »

"They'll have us on TNT as the Gone Fishin' cast," Thaddeus Young said. "We've got to come out and play."

The Pacers' defense has held up reasonably well against a dynamic Celtics team that features a superstar point guard with a championship pedigree in Kyrie Irving, who is averaging 25.3 points and eight assists in the series, along with two other budding stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and a finally-healthy former All-Star in Gordon Hayward.

The Pacers' offense, however, has been a mess for at least one quarter in all three games, producing droughts that have left them parched on the scoreboard. They're averaging just 87 points while shooting .398 from the field, which isn't enough to overcome any amount of solid defense.

The answer to offensive behavior is always better judgement. They've either forced bad shots, passed up good shots, or missed open teammates far too often during their dry spells. And, once things start to go bad, they miss too many of the good shots they get.

Mostly, though, it's a matter of getting ball and player movement that enables good shots, a recurring theme throughout their season.

"We have to continue to share the ball throughout the whole game," Darren Collison said. "Even though we missed some shots (on Friday), we could have got better looks."

Nate McMillan's coaching mantra is the Three Cs: calm, clear, connected. He dropped them all into an answer about the offense following Saturday's practice.

"You've got to be connected out there," he said. "It's more about us being connected and not getting frustrated or allowing the pressure to build up where emotionally you're drunk out there. You have to be able to get back to calm, so when things aren't going right you can play with a clear mind."

McMillan showed his players edited offensive and defensive clips Saturday morning, and then had them watch the second half in its entirety to see how it all went wrong.

"You want them to see the flow," he said. "What was a good shot, what was a momentum play, where we missed some guys. You learn from that visual of the flow of the game, as opposed to watching edited clips."

The Pacers' emotions will be as important as their execution, of course. They could give in and call it a season, comforted by the knowledge they exceeded general expectations after Victor Oladipo was lost for the season after playing 36 games. (Oladipo, by the way, arrived at St. Vincent Center at the end of Saturday's session.) Or, they could go all out to save face before the home fans.

"We definitely feel if we stay patient, stay poised...and continue to just fight...that's the biggest thing," Young said. "Fight, fight, fight. It will put us in a better position."

The Pacers have a recent history of doing so. Two years ago they trailed Cleveland 3-0 after blowing a 26-point lead in Game 3. They took Game 4 into the final minute, but lost by four points. In 2011 they trailed Chicago 3-0 but won Game 4 at The Fieldhouse, 89-84. They went on to lose Game 5 in Chicago by 27 points.

For a team that has often and accurately touted its resiliency this season, Sunday's game should bring out a similar response.

"If it doesn't, we shouldn't be playing this game," Young said.

Have a question for Mark? Want it to be on Pacers.com? Email him at askmontieth@gmail.com and you could be featured in his next mailbag.

Mark Montieth's book on the formation and groundbreaking seasons of the Pacers, "Reborn: The Pacers and the Return of Pro Basketball to Indianapolis," is available in bookstores throughout Indiana and on Amazon.com.

Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Indiana Pacers. All opinions expressed by Mark Montieth are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Indiana Pacers, their partners, or sponsors.

pacers-need-more-offense-to-ward-off-extinction

Pacers Need More Offense to Ward Off Extinction

indgrapp08

Nothing is impossible, but the odds are certainly stacked up against the Pacers as they enter Sunday's Game 4 in a 3-0 hole to the Boston Celtics.

But with pride on the line, the Pacers will look to begin the climb against the Celtics in a series that has been closer than the 3-0 deficit shows.

The Pacers have had the lead during the second half in each of the three games, but in all three, a familiar foe has tormented Indiana: offensive droughts.

PLAYOFF CENTRAL: Follow the Pacers' Postseason Run »

During Game 1, an eight-point third quarter quickly wiped away a halftime lead. In Game 2, the Pacers were outscored 31-12 in the fourth frame, erasing what was a double-digit advantage. And in Game 3 on Friday, the third quarter again proved problematic, with the Pacers posting just 12 points as Boston gained control of the game.

"We just go on droughts where we are not making shots," said Thaddeus Young. "Shots are rattling in and out and we're not getting good looks that are within our offense."

Offensively, the Pacers got an impressive performance from Tyreke Evans, who nearly lifted the team to victory with a 19-point performance off of the bench, drilling 4-of-6 3-pointers.

Evans led the team in scoring in what was a balanced effort for the Pacers, who had seven players — including all five starters — reach double figures.

But the balance was not enough to overcome yet another incredible performance by Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving, who followed up his 37-point Game 2 with a 19-point, 10-assist showing in Game 3.

History says the Pacers' chances of overcoming the 3-0 deficit aren't good. In NBA history, no team has ever managed to come back and win a series after trailing 3-0 (0-132). But those numbers don't matter to the Pacers, who are approaching Game 4 as if it were Game 1.

"There definitely won't be any quit in us," said Darren Collison. "We feel like it is still a series. I know it sounds foolish from outside looking in, being down 3-0, but from a mental standpoint in this locker room there won't be any quit."

Pacers: PG - Darren Collison, SG - Wesley Matthews, SF - Bojan Bogdanovic, PF - Thaddeus Young, C - Myles TurnerCeltics: PG - Kyrie Irving, SG - Jaylen Brown, SF - Jayson Tatum, PF - Aron Baynes, C - Al Horford

Pacers: Victor Oladipo - out (right knee surgery)

Celtics: Marcus Smart - out (left oblique tear)

April 19, 2019: Indiana once again showed it could hang with Boston, but endured another second-half shooting slump and came up short in a 104-96 loss at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

With the win, the Celtics took a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series.

"It's our end-of-game execution, that's all it comes down to," Pacers center Myles Turner said. "We're playing good enough defense to win, but we've got to score."

Tyreke Evans led Indiana with 19 points off the bench in the loss — 15 of them coming in the first half — while Bojan Bogdanovic finished with 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists in the loss.

Celtics forward Jaylen Brown led all scorers with 23 points, going 8-for-9 from the field and 4-for-5 from 3-point range. All-Star guard Kyrie Irving added 19 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds for Boston.

The Pacers aim to keep the series alive as they fight off elimination from Kyrie Irving and the Celtics in Game 4 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Sunday, April 21 at 1:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »

Broadcast Information TV & Radio Listings »

TV: ABC - Mark Jones (play-by-play), Hubie Brown (analyst), Israel Gutierrez (sideline reporter)
Radio: 107.5 FM/1070 AM The Fan - Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Slick Leonard (analyst), Pat Boylan (sideline reporter/host)Please Note: Inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Pacers radio broadcasts can be heard on 1080 AM instead of 1070.

Game 4 is a Gold Out! Everyone in attendance will receive a gold T-shirt to wear while they support the Pacers.

game-preview-pacers-vs-celtics-game-4

Game Preview: Pacers vs Celtics (Game 4)

Strategies can be questioned, and they were in the Pacers' locker room, and the dispersal of playing time can be debated, as it always is. But the central theme of the Pacers' loss to Boston on Friday, and the bottom line of the playoff series that now stands on the brink of extinction, is simple.

Raw talent and athleticism. Oh, and poise as well.

The Pacers' 104-96 loss at Bankers Life Fieldhouse was similar to the first two games of the series in that they were competitive with the Celtics long enough to give them hope, but were done in by a one-quarter collapse. Now they are faced with the gargantuan task of doing something no team in NBA history has ever done: overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a seven-game series.

"The silver lining is that we've been in every single game," Darren Collison said. "All it takes is one win. Definitely ain't going to be no quit in us. I know it sounds foolish outside looking in, being down 3-0, but in this locker room there's definitely not going to be no quit."

What's needed in the locker room — or on the court, actually — is execution and shot-making. The Pacers lacked both in their 12-point third period, which turned their two-point halftime advantage into a seven-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter. It was reminiscent of the third period in Game 1 when they scored eight points and the fourth period in Game 2 when they scored 12. It's also a drought the Pacers can't afford against superior opposition.

As Slick Leonard said over the radio broadcast toward the end of the game, Boston has more horses than the Pacers. He knows from experience. He won three ABA titles and reached the finals two other times while coaching the Pacers when they had stallions. He had a losing record in his final five seasons when they had ordinary talent.

The Pacers player most resembling a winning horse never made it to Friday's game. Victor Oladipo's anticipated arrival, which might have injected some of his much-heralded energy and positivity into their predicament, never came off because his charter flight was unable to take off from Miami due to weather issues. Seems appropriate, in retrospect.

The Pacers put on quite a show for the capacity audience for a half. They trailed by as many as 15 points in the first quarter as Boston's clinic in halfcourt offense produced 41 points, fueled by 8-of-10 shooting from behind the 3-point line.

They came storming back in the second, outscoring Boston 33-18 behind the unpredictable contributions of Tyreke Evans. A 35 percent 3-point shooter during the regular season, Evans hit a foretelling triple with 8.3 seconds left in the first period and then added two more without a miss in the second quarter, when he scored 12 points.

It started to unravel quickly in the second half. Myles Turner hit a 3-pointer to open the third quarter, but what followed was a succinct summary of the Pacers' offensive issues in this series:

An off-balance driving layup by Darren Collison; a missed 13-footer by Bojan Bogdanovic off the offensive rebound; Bogdanovic's missed 3-pointer; Wesley Matthews' missed 3-pointer; Thaddeus Young's pass that sailed over Bogdanovic's head and out of bounds; Turner's missed step-back 3-pointer with ample time on the shot clock; Collison's missed 20-footer; Turner's missed 3-pointer early in the shot clock after he fumbled a pass.

A timeout couldn't break the spiral. Young missed a shot from too far under the basket after play resumed and Turner missed a shot in the lane. By the time Bogdanovic finally scored on what actually was a forced, off-balance drive left of the basket, momentum had shifted. The Pacers led one more time, on Turner's three-point play, but they collapsed under the burden of impatience and inaccuracy.

"We weren't patient," coach Nate McMillan said. "We started taking some quick, contested shots, bailing them out."

"I felt like we were settling," Domantas Sabonis agreed. "We could have kept moving the ball. Take our time. There's a 24-second shot clock. We have to take the best shot, not the quickest."

Without being too patient, though. That happened, too. Sabonis managed to score under the basket just ahead of the shot clock later in the period, bringing the Pacers within a point. Terry Rozier then hit three free throws after being fouled by Collison on a 3-point attempt and the Pacers followed with a shot-clock violation.

Evans rattled in a 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter, bringing the Pacers within four points, but Young threw the ball over Cory Joseph's head in transition and Joseph missed a well-defended layup a half-second ahead of the shot-clock buzzer after passing up a 3-point shot.

"Those extra ball movement plays, those are the ones that kill us," Young said. "We get ourselves against the shot clock and then we start trying to go one on one."

Young also questioned the Pacers' first-quarter defensive strategy, which called for aggressive hedges on Boston's screens to bring an extra defender to Kyrie Irving and force him to give up the ball. It didn't work out, as Irving accumulated four assists in the period and his teammates caught fire — particularly Jaylen Brown, who averaged four points over the first two games but scored 11 in the first quarter while hitting all three 3-point attempts, and finished with a game-high 23.

"We changed our coverages a little bit and that put us in a bad spot," Young said. "We had to go back to the old coverages and that got us back into the game. Those type of things happen when you try to overthink situations and try to make too many adjustments. We kind of overdid it with the adjustments in the first quarter. Once we got it back to what we were doing in the first two games, that got us back into the game."

Then again, what coaching staff isn't going to make adjustments after a team falls behind 2-0 in a series? And can strategies be blamed for the Pacers hitting 28 percent of their second-half field goals after they hit 55 percent in the first half?

It's talent. And composure at crunch time.

"They were much more poised than us," Collison said.

The Celtics reached Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals last season without Irving and Gordon Hayward. Now they have their two All-Stars and all the other key figures from last season's team other than the injured Marcus Smart. It took time for all their talent to be corralled and organized, and Hayward needed time to fully recover from his injury. But now they're out of the gate and running.

"We had to figure it out," said Irving, who was held to 19 points on 7-of-19 shooting, but had 10 assists. "We're settling into who we want to be. An overall great team."

It's unfortunate for the Pacers to have collided with this opponent. If everything had come together more quickly for the Celtics, they would be a higher seed in the East and playing someone else. Or, if the Pacers had not lost Oladipo for 46 games, they might be a higher seed and playing a lesser team, or at least have homecourt advantage in this series. But here they are, two teams brought together by the whims of fate, and for now at least headed in opposite directions.

The Pacers don't need to be told of the challenge that awaits them: winning four straight games against an opponent that's defeated them six-of-seven times this season. How do they respond?
Turner cut off a question about it, not needing to hear the scenario described to him.

"It's a pride thing," he said. "Getting swept is like a punch in the gut."

pacers-season-down-to-prideful-stand

Pacers' Season Down to Prideful Stand

Wheat Hotchkiss

The Pacers were hoping for a different result back at home, but Game 3 against the Celtics followed a similar script to Games 1 and 2 in Boston.

Indiana once again showed it could hang with Boston, but endured another second-half shooting slump and came up short in a 104-96 loss at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

With the win, the Celtics take a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series.

The Pacers scored the first three points of Game 3, but the Celtics dominated the next several minutes with an 18-4 run.

Boston extended its lead to as many as 15 points in the opening frame thanks to its 3-point shooting. The visitors went 8-for-10 from beyond the arc in the first quarter, with Brown knocking down all three of his attempts and adding a dunk for good measure.

The Celtics took a 41-28 lead into the second quarter, but that's when Evans took over. The 6-6 guard scored 12 points in the first seven minutes of the period, capped by a 3-pointer that tied the game at 52.

"I just came in and thought I was patient," Evans said after the game. "I didn't really force anything."

Indiana finally took its first lead since the opening minutes on Wesley Matthews' 3-pointer from the left corner with 1:22 remaining in the half. Al Horford's layup with 43.1 seconds left tied the game once again, but Darren Collison's bucket on the other end gave the Blue & Gold a two-point lead at the break.

Unfortunately, the Pacers once again went cold after halftime. After scoring just eight points in the third quarter of Game 1 and 12 in the fourth quarter of Game 2, Indiana had another nightmare frame on Wednesday, tallying just 12 points in the third quarter on 5-of-23 shooting.

Fortunately the Celtics weren't much better for most of the quarter, going 7-for-24 themselves, though they closed the frame with six unanswered points to take an 80-73 advantage into the fourth.

"Third quarter, we lost our patience," Pacers head coach Nate McMillan said. "We weren't patient, we started taking some quick, contested shots, bailing them out. I thought defensively we didn't have patience, we lost the rhythm, lost momentum. That carried out throughout the game."

The Pacers chipped away at Boston's lead, getting within one after Matthews was fouled beyond the arc and hit all three free throws with 6:05 to play. But Irving answered with a layup on the ensuing possession to keep the Celtics in front.

Irving subsequently converted a contested fadeaway jumper, then drove and kicked to Horford for a 3-pointer that pushed Boston's lead back to seven with 3:32 remaining.

"I thought they did a great job of running their sets and really executing," Collison said. "They played off one another. Jaylen Brown had his moments, Kyrie, Gordon Hayward, Terry (Rozier), Al Horford — it just seemed like they had their moments with each guy."

The Pacers were unable to even make it a one-possession game the rest of the way, as Irving and the Celtics held on to secure the win and control of the series.

Seven Pacers reached double figures in the loss. Turner tallied 13 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks, while fellow center Domantas Sabonis had 12 points, seven boards, and six assists off the bench. Matthews and Thaddeus Young added 11 points each, while Collison scored 10.

Jayson Tatum finished with 18 points and seven rebounds for the Celtics, while Horford had another solid all-around performance, racking up 16 points, eight boards, and four assists.

The Pacers will look to avoid being swept on Sunday afternoon when they host Game 4 at 1:00 PM ET.

"Sunday's a big game," McMillan said. "It's do-or-die for us. It's as simple as that."

Boston's 41 points in the first quarter were the most by a Pacers opponent in the opening frame all season. They allowed 40 points to Golden State on Jan. 28.

Evans' 19 points matched his playoff career high. He also scored 19 points for New Orleans in a Game 3 loss to the Warriors on April 23, 2015.

Indiana outscored Boston 34-22 in points in the paint on Friday.

After starting 8-for-10, the Celtics went 15-for-34 from 3-point range in Game 3. The Pacers were 11-for-30, but just 3-for-15 in the second half.

The Pacers scored 20 points off 13 Boston turnovers while only allowing 10 points off their 11 giveaways.

Irving recorded his fourth career postseason double-double on Friday. He had three while playing for Cleveland, one against Boston in 2015 and two in consecutive games against Toronto in 2017.

"He's a great player. He's a playmaker. He's a guy that does a great job of reading the defense. He's unselfish...Those guys were knocking down open shots. He creates opportunities for his teammates as well as for himself." -McMillan on Kyrie Irving

"We just have to find the silver lining. That silver lining is that we've been in every single game. All it takes is one win. There definitely won't be any quit in us. We feel like it is still a series." -Collison

"We just go on droughts where we are not making shots, shots are rattling in and out and we're not getting good looks that are within our offense. Back to the drawing board once again." -Young on Indiana's offensive woes

"The confidence is at a very high level when we know what everyone is capable of on the floor. Down the stretch, everyone made some big plays. They were little things in the grand scheme, but they were big plays. An offensive rebound, a tip-out, getting back in transition. Those are the things you need to do to guarantee the win." -Irving

"You're not going to win it in the first quarter, you're not going to win it in the second. You have to keep doing it over and over and that's what's hard in the playoffs. This Indiana team plays with tremendous character and integrity...They play the game the right way, the way it is supposed to be played. We have to be ready to compete at the highest level again." -Celtics head coach Brad Stevens on Game 4

The Pacers shot 21.7 percent from the field in the third quarter (5-for-23) and 11.1 percent from 3-point range (1-for-9), when they were outscored by Boston, 21-12.

The Pacers host the Celtics again at Bankers Life Fieldhouse for Game 4 on Sunday, April 21 at 1:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »

game-rewind-pacers-96-celtics-104-game-3

Game Rewind: Pacers 96, Celtics 104 (Game 3)

pacers-96-celtics-104-game-3

Pacers 96, Celtics 104 (Game 3)

Nate McMillan was clearly sleep-deprived when he met with the media following the Pacers' practice on Thursday and, frankly, slightly and uncharacteristically grouchy.

You can't blame him. He had watched the fourth quarter of Wednesday's Game 2 loss to Boston three times: live and in person, on the plane trip home and then again while the game was being replayed on television after he arrived at his house about 2:30 a.m.

What did he see, other than his team missing far too many shots?

"We didn't execute well," he said. "The last minute of the game was the worst basketball I've seen in a long, long time.

"I take some responsibility on that. It was just a poorly-played minute of basketball."

Execution obviously will have to improve for the Pacers to extract themselves from their 2-0 deficit heading into Friday's game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. And there's no better place for it to improve than in the elements of their offense that involve centers Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis.

They seem to offer the Pacers their best hope for a matchup advantage in the series, but it hasn't worked out that way. Boston's collapsing defense has smothered them around the basket, and Turner hasn't been able to get consistent perimeter opportunities.

Turner, who averaged 13.3 points during the regular season, combined to hit 5-of-13 field goal attempts in the first two games, including 2-of-7 3-pointers, in 63 total minutes. He's also hit just 1-of-4 foul shots.

Sabonis, who averaged 14.1 points, has hit 3-of-10 shots in the first two games along with 2-of-4 foul shots. He had five assists in Game 2 while finding open teammates against the Celtics' double-teams, but got off just one (missed) shot — hardly what a team prefers from a player who hit 59 percent of his field goal attempts in the regular season.

The Celtics are not switching as much defensively, keeping Turner and Sabonis away from mismatches, and forcing them to give up the ball when they get it around the basket. They're basically doing what McMillan wants by not forcing shots, but their teammates haven't been able to consistently capitalize on the extra attention the two are getting.

The Pacers rely on balanced scoring to make up for the absence of Victor Oladipo, but haven't achieved that against Boston. They had just two players score 10 or more points in Game 1 and four in Game 2. Neither Turner nor Sabonis were among them.

"We want to get everybody involved in the offense," Thaddeus Young said. "That's how we've won games...it makes us a better team 10 times over."

Still, there's no better place to start than with the big men, given their track records. And there's no doubting their desire to become more involved.

Asked if he expects strategic changes to help him get more shots, Turner said chuckled and said, "I hope so."

"That's not my job. My job is to go out there and play. If I'm in position to get more shots I'm going to take it."

Turner has known playoff success from his three previous seasons. He had four double-figure games in the first-round series with Toronto as a rookie, two the following season — including a 20-point, nine-rebound effort in the final game of Cleveland's sweep — and four last season.

Sabonis started slowly last year in the series with the Cavs, scoring just 17 points combined in the first three games. He followed with 19, 22, and 19 points, then had 10 in the Game 7 loss.

Both players also were effective against the Celtics during the regular season. Turner, in three games, averaged 14.8 points on 52 percent shooting and hit 5-of-8 3-pointers. Sabonis, in four games, averaged 13.8 points on 60 percent shooting, hit his only 3-point attempt, and added 7.5 rebounds.

Sabonis is uber-conscientious, and therefore frustrated by his lack of production. He knows the team needs more from him, but also knows the coaches don't want him to force shots. He can draw some hope from last season's series with the Cavs, when he became more productive after tweaks were made to the offense.

"Coach did a great job last year of putting me in the pick and roll," Sabonis said. "He changed how we play, and that's where I'm most comfortable. That game plan changed. Hopefully we change something that gets us all going more.

"Coaches have a job to do to get us more involved, but I feel like they're doing it. (The Celtics) are doing a great job stopping  it. I try to make the right read. (Defenders) are collapsing. The main thing is to keep the ball moving. You don't want to make it a selfish thing, like 'I need to score!' It's the playoffs. Winning is important. Keep the ball moving, find the open guy and try to get them the ball."

It works both ways, though. Teammates have to be more patient in the halfcourt offense and remember to look inside.

"We need to look for him a little more," Cory Joseph said.

"I'll be looking for him tomorrow. If I'm in position to create I'll definitely look for him. That's my guy."

Victor Oladipo, who has been in Miami rehabbing since his season-ending injury in a game against Toronto on Jan. 23, is expected to be in Bankers Life Fieldhouse for Friday's game. He won't likely be on the bench because of the risk of another injury, but he'll spend time with the players.

"Vic is the most positive player I've ever played with," Young said. "What he brings to the locker room, what he brings to the team, is huge for us in all aspects. Just his presence, that's huge for us."

"Whenever you have Vic in the locker room, there's positivity...you're going to hear some singing, some music," Doug McDermott added.

It's uncertain if Oladipo will be introduced to the fans, but Doug McDermott knows one way for everyone to see him.

pacers-need-tweaks-to-get-more-from-turner-sabonis

Pacers Need Tweaks to Get More From Turner, Sabonis

The Pacers return home to Indianapolis frustrated after dropping two winnable games in Boston to open their first-round playoff series. In each loss, Indiana's offense went cold for an entire quarter, allowing the Celtics to eke out two victories and retain homecourt advantage in the best-of-seven series.

In Game 1, the Pacers had an abysmal third quarter, scoring just eight points in the frame on 2-of-19 shooting. In Game 2 on Wednesday, they actually racked up 29 points in the third to build an 11-point lead, only for the offense to go cold in the fourth.

After Tyreke Evans' 3-pointer with 11:20 remaining pushed the lead to 12, Indiana didn't score for the next 7:56, opening the door for Boston to reel off 16 unanswered points. Indiana eventually retook the lead after back-to-back threes by Bojan Bogdanovic, only for the Celtics to close the game on a 10-0 run and secure a 99-91 win.

The Pacers were outscored 31-12 in the fourth quarter on Wednesday. Surprisingly, all 12 of their points came on 3-point field goals, as they went 0-for-9 from inside the arc and 0-for-2 from the free throw line in the fateful period.

"Everybody's just got to stay confident, continue to be aggressive," Pacers point guard Darren Collison said after the loss. "We like the looks we're getting."

One player who is particularly struggling to find a rhythm offensively so far in the series is sixth man Domantas Sabonis. The 22-year-old center averaged 14.1 points per game and collected a team-high 30 double-doubles during the regular season, but has not been nearly as productive against Boston.

Sabonis had seven points on 3-of-9 shooting in Game 1 and then attempted just one shot in 22 minutes in Game 2, finishing with just one point (though he did tally five rebounds, five assists, and two steals). The Celtics are clearly scheming to limit Sabonis' production, meaning Pacers coach Nate McMillan will need to figure out some adjustments to get his big man more involved.

The Pacers met the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs for three consecutive seasons, between 2002-03 and 2005-06. The Pacers won two out of three of those meetings.

April 17, 2019: The Pacers took a 79-68 lead into the fourth quarter of Game 2, but Boston outscored the Blue & Gold 31-12 over the final 12 minutes to earn a 99-91 win.

Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 37 points, going 16-for-25 from the field and 6-for-10 from 3-point range while also tallying six rebounds and seven assists.

"When they put the ball in that guy's hands, he makes things happen," Thaddeus Young said. "He made some tough shots and I think that was the ending factor for us."

Bojan Bogdanovic led Indiana with 23 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and four steals in the loss. Young added 15 points, six boards, three assists, and three steals.

The series shifts to Indianapolis as the Pacers host the Celtics for Game 3 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Friday, April 19 at 8:30 PM ET. Find Tickets »

TV: FOX Sports Indiana - Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (sideline reporter/host)
ESPN - Mark Jones (play-by-play), Hubie Brown (analyst), Israel Gutierrez (sideline reporter)
Radio: 107.5 FM/1070 AM The Fan - Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Slick Leonard (analyst), Pat Boylan (sideline reporter/host)Please Note: Inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Pacers radio broadcasts can be heard on 1080 AM instead of 1070.