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Pacers choke in 4th, throw away Game 2 v. Celtics

The Indiana Pacers had the ball in the final minute of the 4th quarter, trailing the Boston Celtics 94-91 and staring down the barrel of a 2-0 deficit in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, and they threw the game away. Literally.

On the ensuing inbounds play, guard Wesley Matthews tried to find Bojan Bogdanovic across the court but ended up putting the ball in the stands. With that costly turnover, all hope of a Pacers win evaporated and the Celtics ran away with the game.

After a few more bad defensive trips and empty offensive possessions, Indiana lost the game 99-91, gifting Boston a 2-0 lead as the series heads to Indianapolis. The Celtics were lead by point guard Kyrie Irving, who torched the Pacers defense for 37 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

Sophomore forward Jayson Tatum also played a large role for the Celtics, dropping 26 point on 11-20 shooting from the floor. The duo of Irving and Tatum overwhelmed the Pacers all game, as they accounted for 63 of Boston’s 99 points, and shot a scorching 26-46 (56.5%) for the game.

The final minute of Game 2 was just a quick glimpse at a terrible fourth quarter for Indiana. After leading by 12 points early in the fourth, the Pacers went on to miss 10 consecutive shots while the Celtics went on a 16-0 run to erase the deficit.

Matthews broke the drought with a 3-pointer, and then Bojan Bogdanovic followed up with two of his own to give the Pacers a 91-89 lead with less than 3 minutes remaining. Indiana followed that up with another 10-0 collapse to end the game, and that was that. Boston outscored Indiana 31-12 in the final frame, and once again the Pacers failed to compete for the full 48 minutes and it cost them the game.

Bob Kravitz tweeted after the game, “Special players win the playoffs. The Celtics have one. The Pacers don’t. End of story”, and he was absolutely right. When it comes to the NBA Playoffs, teams need an alpha on the offensive end who can get a bucket when the team needs one most, and the Pacers have not had a player like that since Victor Oladipo was sidelined with injury.

Kyrie Irving is that kind of player, as seen from his eight straight points to cap the Celtics 16-0 run in the fourth quarter. He’s an elite offensive threat who can get the ball in isolation and bend the defense to his will. And right now, the Pacers don’t have that kind of guy.

Indiana had four scorers in double figures on Wednesday night, led by forward Bojan Bogdanovic’s 23 points, but there is no clear alpha on the offensive end. Bogdanovic showed flashes of brilliance in the fourth with his two big 3’s that gave Indiana the lead late, but outside of those two shots he failed to produce in the clutch.

The Pacers need to be able to take advantage of mismatches on offense in the late game. There were multiple possessions in the final quarter where Bogdanovic or guard Darren Collison ended up with Al Horford defending them on the perimeter and none of those possessions ended in points for Indiana. Failing to capitalize on those kinds of mismatches doomed the Pacers, while Boston picked Indiana apart on defense in the fourth.

By the time Game 3 tips off at 8:30 p.m. in Indianapolis on Friday night, the Pacers will have to have found their new alpha. Somebody who will show up and ball out for the full 48 minutes, and carry this team to victory. If they can’t find that new go-to guy, then it might just be time to call it wraps on this Pacers season.

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