Boston, Dec 23 – For twenty-four agonizing minutes, the TD Garden crowd sat in stunned silence. The Boston Celtics, usually imperious on their home floor, looked lethargic and disjointed, heading into the halftime break trailing the 6-23 Indiana Pacers by a staggering 18 points. But championship pedigree isn’t about how you start; it’s about how you respond when the walls are closing in.
The Defensive Clampdown
The halftime locker room must have been a scene of reckoning because the team that emerged for the second half bore no resemblance to the one that allowed 61 first-half points. Boston chipped away in the third, but the fourth quarter was a masterclass in defensive suffocation. The Celtics held Indiana to a miserable 13 points in the final frame, turning a potential embarrassment into a gritty 103-95 victory.
Jaylen Brown was the offensive catalyst, pouring in 31 points on 50% shooting to keep the Celtics afloat when the rhythm wasn’t there. Derrick White played the perfect lieutenant, adding 19 points and calm decision-making. But while the stars scored, the game was flipped by sheer effort and intensity on the defensive end, forcing the young Pacers into bad shots and turnovers down the stretch.
The Bigger Picture
This win says more about Boston’s culture than their talent. To win a game where you trail big to a lottery team requires swallowing your pride and doing the dirty work. Improving to 18-11, the Celtics avoided a “trap game” loss that could have lingered in the psyche.
For Indiana, the collapse is a painful microcosm of their season. Dominating a contender for a half shows their potential, but crumbling under the pressure of the fourth quarter highlights the gap between promise and execution.
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The Silent Statement
+21 – Hugo González’s Plus/Minus
Jaylen Brown got the buckets, but rookie Hugo González won the war. In 37 minutes, the youngster was a spectacular +21, grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds. His box score only shows 6 points, but his impact was loud—winning 50/50 balls, securing possessions, and anchoring the defense during the comeback.
The Bottom Line
Boston proved tonight that they can win ugly. They survived a scare by flipping the defensive switch, reminding the league that they can suffocate opponents on demand. The Pacers leave Boston with a moral victory, but moral victories don’t change the 6-23 record.
