The Oklahoma City Thunder dominated the Indiana Pacers down the stretch of the fourth quarter to pull out a win after being outplayed for the vast majority of the contest. The Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, no showed, which is easy to explain, according to the head coach.

The Boston Celtics hosted the Indiana Pacers Friday, 27th of December, the first of two matchups in TD Garden, Boston. For Coach Rick Carlisle and the Indiana Pacers, they come into Boston managing five injuries with Isaiah Jackson, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Obi Toppin who were all ruled unavailable prior to tip-off. Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) and Jrue Holiday (shoulder) have both been ruled out for Boston. Holiday’s unavailability saw Sam Hauser slotted into the starting lineup for the C’s. Hauser’s starting nod is noteworthy, as he has been in and out of the lineup with his own back injuries and struggling with form, going scoreless in 3 out of his last 4 games.

Jayson Tatum started the game strong, physically taking it to Bennedict Mathurin for the strong and-1 post finish. Mathurin got going early for Indy, pacing his team with 2 of his team’s first 4 buckets. Jaylen Brown was perfect to start the game in this one, as he went three for three, with a pair of triples. Derrick White also got in on the action as Indy sagged off him to hit on his second bucket and his second three-pointer as Boston took an early 24-13 lead.

Boston continued to pile on points behind a crossover step back long Jaylen Brown two and then a Jordan Walsh three, as Boston stretched the early lead out to 12 points. Brown continued to excel with another three-pointer and a steal and breakaway two-handed dunk to register his fifteenth first quarter point on a perfect 6/6 from the field. The Indiana Pacers came into this game on the second night of a back-to-back, and it showed early as Boston was the hungrier team and getting to the loose balls first. The Celtics led 39-22 after the first quarter.

Boston started the second quarter very slowly, going scoreless for the first 3 minutes and turning the ball over multiple times. Luckily for the Celtics, Indy wasn’t much better, with just one three-point made basket in that stretch. The crowd well and truly woke up at the 6-minute mark of the game as JB drove past two perimeter defenders and dropped the hammer on top of an outstretched Myles Turner. Brown, not to be outdone, then stole the ball again at midcourt, leading to a dunk competition-worthy windmill jam with no Pacer player within fifty feet of the the basket.

Jayson Tatum would then return to the game after a nice break to hit his first shot, a corner three-pointer. Al Horford, then added his own triple as Boston registered a 20-point first-half lead at the 2-minute, 30-second mark. The first half would end 67-42 with Boston in complete control, spearheaded by Jayson Tatum (10 pts, 10 boards) and Jaylen Brown (23 points, 3/5 from three).

Following the Christmas Day disaster, Al Horford cited “inconsistent effort” postgame after the brutal loss to conference rival Philadelphia 76ers. Boston was looking to get back into form before facing a 4-game west coast road trip in early January. The third quarter proved to be just the test, as Boston continued to exploit Indiana’s lack of perimeter size and picking the Pacers apart with crisp passing and good pace en route to a massive 31-point lead with 5 minutes remaining in the third.

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Indiana came into Boston playing 4 games over 6 nights, and the fatigue was starting to show late in the third quarter with Indy a step slow, Boston would reach the penalty bonus with 4 and a half minutes to go in the quarter. To Indiana’s credit, they did not let the lead creep out more as the quarter would end 103-78, Boston up 25 points.

JB logged his fortieth point of the game, his highest score of the season, with a mind-blowing eleven minutes left in the game. Eventually Joe Mazzulla would substitute out Brown to a standing ovation and a 44-point night, shooting a stellar 66% split from the field with 6-11 from three. Rick Carlisle would go to his deep bench around the 8-minute mark, giving his younger guys a test against Boston. Payton Pritchard would add 18 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds; Jayson Tatum had a double-double night with 22 points and 13 rebounds; Al Horford chipped in 13 points, whilst Derrick White added 9 points and 6 assists.

Drew Peterson, Jordan Walsh and Jaden Springer all saw significant garbage minute time for Boston to finish off the game. The Celtics, who now sit just a few games ahead of the 3rd placed New York Knicks in the Eastern conference needed a comfortable win and they got this tonight behind a well-rounded team performance. Boston will next face these Pacers once more at home on Sunday, 29th of December at 6pm.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – After more than a week since its last game, Indiana returns to action Sunday against Winthrop at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

This marks the Hoosiers’ last of 11 nonconference games before resuming Big Ten play on Jan. 2 for the remainder of the regular season. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.

Indiana most recently defeated Chattanooga 74-65 on Dec. 21 in Bloomington, where Mackenzie Mgbako and Malik Reneau scored a team-high 14 points apiece. Following the win, coach Mike Woodson said the team would have a few days off before resuming practice on Thursday evening. Indiana enters Sunday’s game with a 9-3 record and a desire to clean up recent defensive shortcomings.  

“Definitely the defensive side is the side we need to focus on the most and keep working at that and getting better,” Reneau said after the Chattanooga game. “But I feel like this break will help us out and clear our minds and we’ll come back ready to work and get ready for Big Ten play.”

Here’s a full breakdown of the Winthrop Eagles.

Key players

Key departures

2024-25 schedule (10-4)

Head coach: Mark Prosser

Prosser has a 65-45 overall record and a 32-18 record in Big South play in his fourth season at Winthrop. In Prosser’s first season, the Eagles won the Big South south division title with a 14-2 conference record, but they finished in fourth place the following two seasons. Before his head coaching stint at Winthrop, Prosser coached Western Carolina for three seasons, going 37-53 overall and 18-35 in the Southern Conference. He was also an assistant coach at Winthrop from 2012-18, following one season as Brevard College’s head coach. Previous jobs include assistant coaching positions at Wofford and Bucknell. He played at Marist from 1998-99, then became a student assistant after an injury. Prosser, 46, was born in Wheeling, W.V.

Strengths

Winthrop has benefited from continuity, which has become rare in today’s era of college basketball. Its four leading scorers from last year returned, and they’re leading the Eagles in scoring again this season, averaging double-digit points. All four are seniors in at least their second seasons at Winthrop under Prosser.

That core includes a pair of 6-foot-7 forwards, Kelton Talford and K.J. Doucet. Both are efficient scorers, shooting over 55% from the field. Talford is the team’s leading rebounder and second-leading shot blocker. He leads the Big South with 52 offensive rebounds and 101 free throw attempts. Indiana will have to keep him off the glass and foul line. Doucet can stretch the floor at 41.7% from 3-point range, creating a dynamic one-two punch in the front court.

Guards Kasen Harrison and Nick Johnson round out Winthrop’s veteran quartet. Harrison does the vast majority of scoring from 2-point range, and he’s the team’s assist leader at 3.3 per game. Johnson is fourth on the team in scoring, but he’s plenty capable at 11 points per game. He led the Eagles with 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting in their most recent win over Mercer. 

As a team, Winthrop ranks 17th nationally at 87.2 points per game and plays at the nation’s fifth-fastest tempo. The Eagles lead the nation with 32.1 free throw attempts per game. nationally. Indiana has struggled to rebound the ball in a few games this year, and it faces a formidable challenge in that area Sunday against a Winthrop team that ranks 17th nationally with 41.9 rebounds per game. Winthrop also averages 8.9 steals and has an opponent turnover percentage of 21.7%, 33rd in the country, placing an emphasis on Indiana taking care of the ball.

Weaknesses

Indiana’s significant height advantage could offset the effectiveness of the 6-foot-7 duo of Talford and Doucet. Both players are having good seasons, but they haven’t faced a front court trio quite like Indiana’s 7-foot center Oumar Ballo and 6-foot-9 forwards Malik Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako. Winthrop’s leading shot blocker is 6-foot-10 center Tai Hamilton, but he plays just 9.9 minutes per game. Lacking height and shot blockers inside, Winthrop may have to play Hamilton more than usual.

Though Winthrop is among the nation’s top-20 in scoring average, it has not been efficient. The Eagles shoot just 30.9% from 3-point range, which ranks 297th nationally. They get to the free throw line more than anyone, but they haven’t taken advantage of that as they shoot just 66.8% from the line, 302nd nationally. Baker and Jones lead the team with 30 and 25 3-pointers made, respectively, but both shoot below 35% from beyond the arc. 

Season and game outlook

Winthrop was picked to finish second in the preseason Big South poll and received one first-place vote. The Eagles rank 184th overall on KenPom, ninth-best out of Indiana’s 13th opponents this season. They should be in the mix for a Big South title in Prosser’s fourth.

Indiana is predicted to win Sunday’s game 89-74 and is given a 92% chance of victory by KenPom. The Hoosiers’ defense has struggled in several games this season, and they’ll have to be sharp to slow down a fast-paced, high-scoring – though not particularly efficient – Winthrop offense. It’s a game Indiana should win comfortably in its final tune-up before facing Big Ten opponents the rest of the way.