Full Court Press publishes at least twice a week (and more often in-season), bringing you the best Celtics/NBA coverage with veteran NBA journalist Sherrod Blakely.
Have a comment? Let me know what you think here!
Like reading Full Court Press? Please subscribe.
️ Follow my Facebook page at @sherrodblakely
Want to get a friend into the Full Court Press Fam? Forward away!
Newsletters to check out: Open Court, Pucks with Haggs
*****************************************
The Boston Celtics needed this one.
Sure, beating the Indiana Pacers 128-123 was important when you consider Boston's fight for the top spot in the East while the Pacers are simply playing out the schedule having already been eliminated from playoff contention.
But this win was bigger than that, even against a lowly opponent.
The Celtics have been consistently blowing out teams the past couple of months.
But with the playoffs around the corner and no Robert Williams (left knee), the Celtics will surely find themselves in more down-to-the-wire matchups.
And this season, that has not been a good thing.
Prior to Friday's game, Boston's record in "clutch" games (those decided by five points or less) was 13-21, for a winning percentage of .382 which is the third-lowest "clutch" winning percentage in the NBA.
So to pull out a last-minute victory, even if it is against one of the NBA's worst teams, has added value to this Celtics team.
With four games left to be played, it's unclear how much downtime Boston's starters will get prior to the playoffs.
Head coach Ime Udoka sat a number of key players in Boston's loss at Toronto on Sunday, and it's likely he will sit players next week.
So opportunities to work on some things with the Celtics' main players, will be few and far between prior to the playoffs.
Friday's win was one in which they had to execute down the stretch, often leaning on their non-stars to help lead the way.
Celtics guard Derrick White had 13 points which included a clutch 3-pointer to increase Boston's lead to 106-101 in the fourth, and a driving lay-up with 14.4 seconds to play that sealed the victory.
Here are the Stars, Studs and Duds from Boston's win over Indiana.
STARS
Jaylen Brown: This was one of Brown's more efficient, high-scoring games this season. He led all scorers with 32 points on 12-for-18 shooting along with dishing out seven assists.
Tyrese Haliburton: Many of us are still shaking our heads as to what the Sacramento Kings were thinking when they traded Haliburton to Indiana. Despite fouling out, Haliburton was the best player on the floor for most of the game as he finished with 30 points on a super-efficient 10-for-11 shooting from the field.
Jayson Tatum: This was yet another game in which Jayson Tatum checked off several boxes for Boston. He scored 31 points on 10-for-24 shooting, but still managed to dish out six assists with just one turnover, while also grabbing six rebounds to go with a steal and a blocked shot.
STUDS
Al Horford: The workload for Al Horford will get heavier with Robert Williams (left knee) out for at least a month. Against the Pacers, Horford delivered one of his best all-around games of the season, scoring 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting to go with 10 rebounds and six assists while turning the ball over just one time.
Derrick White: The perimeter game of Derrick White is starting to come around after a rocky start, with Friday's game one of his most efficient. He scored 13 points off the bench but did so on 2-for-4 shooting from the field.
Jalen Smith: Prior to being traded to Indiana from Phoenix, Jalen Smith was playing some of the best basketball of his career. Friday's game against the Celtics was a reminder of his upside as Smith came off the Pacers bench to score 17 points and grab six rebounds while shooting 8-for-14 from the field
DUDS
Buddy Hield: The Indiana sharpshooter never got into any kind of shot-making flow all game, finishing with just six points on 2-for-10 shooting from the field.
