Indiana

Indiana Pacers Squander Another Opportunity in Game Three Loss

Published

4 months ago

May 26, 2024

Indiana Pacers Squander Another Opportunity in Game Three Loss

Source: Stacy Revere / Getty

(INDIANAPOLIS, IN) – After commanding the lead for most of the game, the Boston Celtics come from down 18 to win game three 114-111 on the shoulders of Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday.

1. First Quarter

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With the way game two ended with Tyrese Haliburton injuring his left hamstring again, there was some question marks surrounding how the Indiana Pacers would start tonight’s game. Boston scored the first five points of the game with a Jaylen Brown layup and an Al Horford three in the first forty-eight seconds. Indiana’s first basket was scored by Andrew Nembhard on a floater. Both teams started red hot by combining to make nine of their first ten shots. Following Horford’s basket, Jayson Tatum scored eight consecutive points for the Celtics that put his team ahead 11-4 with 10:13 left in the period. Indiana trimmed its deficit down to three following a hook shot from Pascal Siakam that made it 18-15. Boston hit Indiana with back-to-back threes from Tatum and Horford with 5:58 remaining in the first. It took nearly five minutes for the Pacers to make it a one-point game after Aaron Nesmith made his only field goal in the first quarter to make it 30-29. Myles Turner ended the quarter with a dunk to bring Indiana within one again with 26 seconds left. After one, Boston’s lead was 32-31. Tatum led all scorers in the first quarter with 15 points followed by 11 points from Siakam. Indiana shots 59% from the field compared to 57% for Boston.

2. Second Quarter

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Indiana did not possess the lead at all in the first quarter and would rectify that in the second with Turner banking in a hook shot to give his team its first lead. The Pacers opened the second quarter with an 8-2 run to take a 39-34 lead after a Siakam field goal. Boston got another three from Horford in the first half to bring the Celtics within a field goal. With 7:51 remaining in the half, Tatum drilled another three in the first half to make it 44-40 game. Indiana’s offense caught fire after that. The Pacers went on an 15-4 run to take a 59-44 lead following a T.J. McConnell two-point shot. Nembhard was a big part of Indiana’s success during that stretch scoring five points and dishing out a pair of assists. McConnell was the heartbeat for Indiana scoring six points and dishing out four assists. Nembhard eventually gave Indiana its largest lead of the game with a triple with 2:43 left in the half. Boston went from trailing 64-46 to 66-57 in two minutes. Nembhard finished off the best quarter of his career with his third triple that made it 69-57 at the break. Nembhard’s 17 points in the quarter propelled him to the leading scorer in the first half with 21 points. Boston’s leading scorer was Tatum with 20 points. Indiana also got 15 points from Siakam and Turner in the first half. The Celtics got 14 points from Brown and 12 points from Horford in the half. Indiana shot 63.6% from the field in the first half and went 10/10 at the free-throw line.

3. Third Quarter

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The halftime break really let Boston go to work on how to take Nembhard out of the game in the second half. Indiana opened the second half with four points to take a 16 point lead after field goals from Siakam and Turner. With 6:04 remaining in the third quarter, McConnell’s pullup jump shot put Indiana ahead 84-66 and then Boston went to work the next 18:04. The Celtics outscored the Pacers the final six minutes of the third quarter 15-6 to make it a 90-81 game after three quarters of play. It was nearly a seven-point game after thirty-six minutes of play, but Doug McDermott tipped in a shot following a miss from Nembhard with 0.6 seconds left in the third quarter. Neither team shot it well in the third, Indiana shot 38.5% and Boston shot 31.8%. However, Boston outscored Indiana 24-21 in the quarter simply because they got to the foul line nine times compared to one for Indiana. Additionally, the Pacers went 0/9 on threes. Indiana was +2 on the glass in the quarter, and only surrendered three offensive rebounds to Boston in the period. Tatum led all scorers after the third quarter with 29 points followed by Nembhard with 23 points.

4. Fourth Quarter

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After scoring 21 points in the third quarter, Indiana’s offense only managed to score 21 points again in the fourth quarter. The Celtics scored the first four points of the final quarter to make it a two-possession game after a Derrick White layup. Indiana responded with a three-point play from Turner to go back up eight points. Less than a minute later, Horford knocked down another three ball that brought Boston within three points. Indiana would do a good job at responding to the Boston punches, but the offense struggled without its all-star point guard in crunch time. With 5:41 left, it was a 99-95 game. After each team missed a field goal, they combined to make eight consecutive shots. Indiana was able to push its lead to eight points because they nailed back-to-back threes from Nembhard and McConnell. Boston got field goals from Brown, Horford, and Jrue Holiday. Boston was down 109-101 with 2:38 left in the game and then Indiana only scored two points the rest of the way. Tatum converted a his fifth three of the game to make it 109-106 with 1:41 to go. Indiana got two free throws from Nembhard to go ahead 111-105 with 1:26 left. Horford responded with his seventh three of the game and then Siakam missed a layup with 49 seconds remaining. Holiday was silent through the first three quarters and then won the game for Boston in the final 39 seconds. He converted a layup and a free throw because of Siakam fouling him attempting to block the shot. Boston took its first lead since the first quarter. Indiana got a shot up quickly from Nembhard that drew iron in aspirations of getting the last possession. Turner contested Tatum’s attempted layup with ten seconds remaining to force a miss. Nembhard got the rebound and dribbled it up the floor quickly with Holiday guarding him. Boston’s best defender took the ball from Nembhard and then went to the foul line with 1.7 seconds left and made both free throws. Indiana’s final shot of the night fell off the front of the rim on a three-point attempt from Nesmith. Boston defeats Indiana 114-111.

5. Top Performers

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Jayson Tatum (36p, 10r, 8a, 5 threes), Jaylen Brown (24p, 3a, 2r), Al Horford (23p, 5r, 7 threes), Jrue Holiday (14p, 9r, 3a, 3s), and Derrick White (13p, 7a, 5r, 4b). For Indiana, Andrew Nembhard (32p, 9a, 4r, 4 threes), T.J. McConnell (23p, 9r, 6a), Pascal Siakam (22p, 6a, 3r), and Myles Turner (22p, 10r). For tonight’s full box score, click here.

6. Notes

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Indiana Pacers look to become first team in NBA history to win a series trailing 3-0
Indiana Pacers lost first home playoff game this postseason
Boston Celtics are now 5-0 on the road in the playoffs
Boston’s starters scored 110 of 114 points
Indiana shot 38% from the field in the second half
- Only went 2/14 from three-point range in the second half
Jayson Tatum scored 30+ points for the 4th time in the last six games
- Tatum recorded a double-double for the 10th time this postseason
- Tatum’s 5 threes are the most he’s made this postseason in a game
Al Horford’s 7 threes are a career high for any game in his career
Andrew Nembhard’s 32 points are a career high for points scored in a game in his career
Pascal Siakam has now scored 22+ points in five of his last six games
Myles Turner logged his third double-double of this postseason in the loss
- Turner scored 20+ points for the 7th time this postseason
T.J. McConnell’s 23 points are a playoff career high
- Second time this postseason McConnell has scored 20+ points

7. Next Up

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Every game this series will only feature a day off between games. Game four between the Pacers and Celtics will be on Monday night from Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Pat Boylan will get things started with the Kroger Pregame Show at 7:30pm. Mark Boyle and Eddie Gill will have the play-by-play starting at 8pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan. The series schedule:

Game 1 – Tuesday, May 21st, 2024, at TD Garden – BOS 133 – 128 (OT)
Game 2 – Thursday, May 23rd, 2024, at TD Garden – BOS 126 – 110
Game 3 – Saturday, May 25th, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse – BOS 114 – 111
Game 4 – Monday, May 27th, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse – 8pm (ESPN)
Game 5 (if necessary) – Wednesday, May 29th, 2024, at TD Garden – 8pm (ESPN)
Game 6 (if necessary) – Friday, May 31st, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse – 8pm (ESPN)
Game 7 (if necessary) – Sunday, June 2nd, 2024, at TD Garden – 8pm (ESPN)

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Indiana

How To Watch Indiana Football Against Maryland In Week 5

Published

3 hours ago

September 27, 2024

Press Room

How To Watch Indiana Football Against Maryland In Week 5

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Curt Cignetti era of Indiana football is off to a strong start, but the difficulty level will continue to rise with Big Ten play the rest of the season.

The Hoosiers are 4-0 with wins over Florida International, Western Illinois, UCLA and Charlotte by an average of over 40 points. Next up, they host a 3-1 Maryland team, which has won three straight games against Indiana and has won at least seven games in each of the last three seasons.

“They got a lot of talent,” Cignetti said. “They’re a good football team. They’re very well coached. Will be a tremendous challenge.”

The Hoosiers and Terrapins both rank top-20 nationally in total passing yards this season, but there may be an additional obstacle as rain is currently forecasted for Saturday afternoon in Bloomington. With a win, Indiana would have its first 5-0 start since the 1967 season, when it made the Rose Bowl.

*** LIVE BLOG: And once the game starts, follow all the action on our live blog written by Todd Golden. To check that out, CLICK HERE.

Maryland Terrapins head coach Mike Locksley watches warmups before the Music City Bowl against the Auburn Tigers. / Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

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Indiana

Indiana Pacers sign Tyler Polley, Keisei Tominaga to Exhibit 10 contracts

Published

10 hours ago

September 27, 2024

Press Room

Indiana Pacers sign Tyler Polley, Keisei Tominaga to Exhibit 10 contracts

The Indiana Pacers officially signed two players to training camp contracts on Thursday.

Tyler Polley, who agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with the Pacers about a week ago, and Keisei Tominaga, who agreed to the same type of contract back in July, both put pen to paper with the Pacers on Thursday. Neither player has their G League rights owned by any team, so Indiana will acquire them in this transaction.

The release from the Pacers announcing the agreements says that both contracts are Exhibit 10 deals. That means both players are currently on one-year, non-guaranteed minimum contracts that can be converted to two-way deals at any time. The significantly more likely reason for the Exhibit 10 language is to give Tominaga and Polley a bonus if they report to the Pacers G League affiliate, the Indiana Mad Ants, for at least 60 days in the coming season. They could be waived early in the training camp process to get that process started.

Tominaga played his college basketball at Nebraska while Polley played at UConn. Polley has two years of professional experience in Europe — this is Tominaga’s first year as a pro.

The Pacers now have 21 players under contract, the maximum allowed for the offseason. If they want to sign another player, such as their reported agreement with Josiah-Jordan James, they will need to waive someone or trade someone away.

Media day for Indiana is on Monday, then they start training camp the following Tuesday.

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Indiana

Indiana Wide Receivers Put Ego Aside For The Greater Good

Published

21 hours ago

September 26, 2024

Press Room

Indiana Wide Receivers Put Ego Aside For The Greater Good

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Perhaps more than any other position in football, wide receiver is one that is fueled by ego.

The stereotypical wide receiver wants the ball. He demands the ball. He lets his quarterback know, he lets his coordinator know, he lets his head coach know he’s the guy to move the sticks.

If a team has a talented receiver, he can take them far. One need only look at Maryland, Indiana’s opponent on Saturday.

Terrapin wide receiver Tai Felton gets the ball in ways most receivers would dream of. He has 41 catches for 604 yards and 5 touchdown catches. Per game, that works out to 10.25 catches, 151 yards and 1.25 touchdowns per game. That makes Felton one of the most productive receivers in all of college football.

Accepting that we don’t know about Felton’s ego or how much he demands the ball, his level of production would be the envy of any receiver motivated by such things.

Meanwhile, Indiana does things differently.

In contrast to Maryland, where Felton accounts for 37.2% of the Terrapins’ total receptions, Indiana spreads the wealth.

Elijah Sarratt leads the Hoosiers with 15 receptions, but three other receivers – Myles Price (14), Omar Cooper Jr. (12), Miles Cross (12) – are right behind Sarratt. Two more – Ke’Shawn Williams (8) and tight end Zach Horton (7) have also been frequent targets.

No one Indiana receiver accounts for more than 19.4% of the Hoosiers’ reception total. It’s receiver-by-committee, just as the running backs operate under the same principle of sharing the ball.

It only works if you have buy-in from a position group where the individual players often demand the ball. So far, Indiana has been able to achieve that goal.

“It’s not as difficult when you’re about the team and you want the team to be successful,” Williams said. “We have a group of guys in our room who are extremely talented. Anybody that’s on that field can go out there and start and make plays.”

Indiana’s Myles Price (4) celebrates a long gain during the Indiana versus Charlotte football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Price, who came to Indiana after four seasons at Texas Tech, said putting his ego aside isn’t a problem.

“It’s about winning. Everyone wants to win. When you win, everyone gets looked at,” said Price, who peaked at 51 receptions while he was with the Red Raiders.

So suppression of ego for the good of the team can also be good for the individual? Price thinks so.

“You look at those teams that go on to win championships. They have 15-20 players that may get drafted and that’s just because they’re winning,” Price explained. “So it’s bringing more attention, it’s bringing more eyes. That’s how we look at it.”

Williams said he’s used to the dynamic of sharing the ball. He played regularly at Wake Forest from 2021-23. Williams never had less than 27 catches in any of those seasons, but he never ranked higher than third on the Demon Deacons in receptions.

“If you’ve watched over my career, I’ve been in crowded receiving rooms since I’ve been in college. I’ve been surrounded by great receivers,” Williams said.

For Williams, who is a fifth-year receiver getting his last chance to prove himself, he admitted it can be tough to be in sharing mode.

“Being a fifth-year guy, it’s definitely challenging,” Williams admitted. “You know, if I don’t go about it the right way, I only do nothing but hurt myself and hurt the team. Me doing the right thing while waiting for my turn allowed me to be successful and help the team win games once I got out there.”

Price, who led Texas Tech with 43 catches in 2023, believes the high tide of team success raises all boats in the end.

“We just continue to win. If it’s in God’s plan (for individual success), it’s in his plan. So I just kind of let that work itself out,” Price said.

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