4 takeaways as Celtics lose to Pacers despite dismal defensive performance

The Celtics were outclassed in their rematch against the Pacers on Sunday night, losing 123-113 in one of their worst defensive efforts of the season.

An undermanned Boston team played without Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) and Jrue Holiday (shoulder) for the second straight game. This time they had their hands full against a motivated Pacers team after dominating in Boston on Friday night.

Tyrese Halliburton (31 points, seven assists) led six different Pacers to double-digit scoring while the visitors shot a blistering 53 percent from the field, one of the best shooting performances by a Boston opponent this season.

Indiana led by as many as 11 points in the first quarter after jumping out to a 16-5 lead before the Celtics fought back to take the lead early in the second quarter. From then on, the Pacers’ offense remained a consistent force as they took control of the game midway through the second quarter and maintained the pressure on offense for the remainder of the game, holding the lead for the final 31 minutes of the game. The hosts made things interesting with a 9-0 run, cutting the Pacers’ lead to two early in the fourth quarter. However, Indiana immediately recovered with its own 12-0 run, took command again shortly before the decisive minute and put an end to the hosts

Jaylen Brown finished the game with a team-high 31 points while Jayson Tatum recovered from a slow start to score 22 points, but it wasn’t enough to match the Pacers’ offensive power.

The loss puts the Celtics just one game ahead of the Knicks and the No. 2 seed in the East.

Here are four takeaways from the Celtics from Sunday’s game:

Payton Pritchard keeps the Celtics going early, but struggles late: Boston’s offense was particularly slow in front of the goal, with Boston’s starters only putting up 10 points in the first six minutes of the game. The pace and production increased rapidly when Payton Pritchard was added to the lineup, particularly in the second quarter. The reserve guard scored 13 of his team-high 19 first-half points in the second quarter, going 5 of 5 from the field and 3 of 3 from 3-point range. Whether it was taking advantage of the Pacers’ slow rotations or working his way into the offense, Pritchard is one of the most consistent Celtics right now, and that was desperately needed on a night where no one but Jaylen Brown got going offensively. However, he failed to score a basket in the second half and committed two crucial turnovers that helped fuel the Pacers’ run in the fourth quarter.

Jayson Tatum starts slow but wakes up late in second half: The All-Star forward usually plays against the Pacers defense, but he couldn’t find his rhythm early on Sunday night. Tatum missed seven of his eight shots in the first half, including all six from 3-point range, as the Pacers screened him. He did dish out five assists before halftime, but the slow start helped Boston get into an early hole against a Pacers offense that ran around the Celtics defense for most of the first two quarters. Tatum rebounded with 17 points in the second half, but it wasn’t enough against a Pacers offense that put up points all night against a Boston defense that wasn’t tight.

Pacers guards wreak havoc against Celtics defense: After an embarrassing loss to the Celtics on Friday, the Pacers’ offense came back out of the gate with a vengeance. Aided by the return of Andrew Nembhard to the lineup, the Pacers shot 59.5 percent from the field in the first half and built a seven-point halftime lead. Nembhard and Tyrese Halliburton combined for 27 points on 11 of 14 shooting before halftime as Boston’s defense struggled to keep both in front of them. It was the latest in a long list of dynamic guards to cause problems for the Celtics on defense in December. Halliburton became the fifth guard to score more than 30 points in a game against Boston in December.

Al Horford has a night to forget: The Celtics have been spoiled with the 38-year-old’s performance this season, but Horford looked his age against the Pacers. The big man missed nine of his first 10 shots of the game, including all eight from 3-point range. He also provided very limited defensive resistance in the game, as the Pacers’ guards competed against him in transition most of the night. With Kristaps Porzingis still hobbling with an ankle injury, the Celtics demand a lot from Horford most nights, and he was unable to perform this night on a very tough defensive night against the Pacers Speed. Horford finished the game with just five points on 2 of 12 shooting from the field.

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