Four things you missed as Pascal Siakam beat the Celtics near the buzzer

INDIANAPOLIS – Pascal Siakam did it again. With time winding down in a tie game, he sized up a defense and charged to his spot. Few can stop him from getting where he wants. And with about five seconds on the clock, he broke the deadlock in a Pacers win over the Celtics, netting the Pacers their third win in a row.

His first game winner this season came closer to the final buzzer. This one forced the Pacers to defend again. But it was just as impressive of a shot, and it came during a game in which scoring was difficult for both teams. With the result on the line, Siakam proved again that he can do the hard things needed to win.

Circle City Spin

The Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever, up close

Circle City SpinTony East

Rick Carlisle once again used the moment to push Siakam's All-Star candidacy before discussing the final bucket. "We were getting everybody out of the way and it was him and [Andrew Nembhard]," Carlisle said. "He's the kind of guy that makes shots like that look routine."

The basket gave the Pacers a 98-96 victory. You missed a quartet of fun elements during the final seconds.

Quenton Jackson, (mostly) true to his word

Quenton Jackson was fearless in the fourth quarter and pesky on defense again, two things he has proven to be for this Pacers team. He is also a truth teller and kept his honesty postgame.

Jackson was asked about what he's thinking when Siakam catches the ball and sizes up a final shot. "Bar-be-cue chicken. I already know what's coming. Everytime Pascal catches the ball, the camera needs to pan to me, not him. I already know it's a bucket."

Well, how convenient. There is a camera angle of Quenton Jackson during the shot. Let's see...

I'm no lip reader, but that appears to be an "Oh, shit!" combined with one of the smallest body reactions of the whole team. He moved like someone who thought Siakam was about to score but spoke as if a bit more dazzled. We'll add this to the sincerity pile.

A young Pacers fan, excited and... consoling?

Flipping through members of the crowd during these shots is a delight – even more so when a big-market team like Boston is the foe. Both ends of the emotional spectrum are on display in every corner of the arena.

A very young fan under the basket that Siakam scored on immediately caught my eye. He was so excited before the shot even went up that he signalled to his dad to look by pointing right at Siakam. Oh, to know what he said. Then, after the shot goes in, a small leap and some celebrating.

And to top it all off, the camera crew following Derrick White off the court after the final buzzer catches the kid again. Though likely not the intended action, it looks as if he's going to offer White, who just missed the final shot, a hug.

Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics want a whistle

If you haven't seen Joe Mazzulla's postgame press conference yet, it is important context here. He fielded a half-dozen questions and answered every single one by leaning into the microphone and saying "illegal screen".

While unconfirmed technically, he is almost assuredly talking about the screen Siakam set on the final play of the game. I wanted to watch the Celtics bench during the pick and see how they felt in the moment.

Ok, so... some obvious frustration right away. The NBA admitted it was an illegal screen, but it would have been a shocking call for reasons this story will get to later.

Celtics fan agony

Whatever the aforementioned kid was feeling watching Siakam score with mere seconds to go, this Celtics fan felt the opposite.

Drop almost completely out of frame. Hopes, shot. Watching Boston rally to tie the game late just for that floater to crush the euphoria.

It's what sports are all about. Unfortunately, this fan was out of the shot during White's three-point attempt at the buzzer.

Other notes from the Pacers third-straight win

Hey, Jay Huff!

When Jay Huff is hitting shots, the game completely changes and opens up. In this one, he made four threes and four twos on his way to 20 points, all of which came in the first 27.5 minutes of action.

The Celtics were trying to shrink the floor for ball handlers and leave Huff open. He made them pay for that. After dropping in a few threes, Boston defenders were more inclined to rush out to defend the three-point arc. That opened up rolling lanes for Huff and set up this glorious shot fake, which fooled two defenders, into a dunk sequence.

In total, Huff finished with 20 points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block. Quite the night, and the Pacers outscored the Celtics by 20 with him on the court during a two-point win.

Tony Bradley gave the Pacers good minutes, too. Many of the Pacers wins have come on nights in which they get close to 48 minutes of good center play. And (I hate these stats but whatever, it fits this section) the Pacers are now 3-3 when Huff scores at least 14 points.

Statistical anomalies

I mentioned the illegal screen above, and it went uncalled. So did... Well, everything. The Pacers were whistled for seven total fouls in this game. The Celtics? The same number, just seven.

That's the fewest fouls committed in one game in franchise history for both teams, a wild stat. It's just the second time either a Pacers or Celtics opponent has been called for seven or fewer fouls in a game before. So, this was a historically-low game in terms of stoppages. Of course they aren't going to call that illegal screen.

The lack of free throws certainly contributes here, but the Pacers won this game scoring just 98 points. It's their first win with under 100 on the scoreboard since a 99-91 win over the Houston Rockets on November 18, 2022. The last time the Pacers won with 98 or fewer? February 2, 2019. Nate McMillan's Pacers won 95-88 over the Miami Heat.

One more – the Celtics scored just two points in the first 6:27 of the third quarter. That's a long stretch without really scoring, and the Pacers defense was much better. Usually, it's the Pacers on the wrong end of a run like that.

This time, they weren't. And it guided them to a situation where Pascal Siakam could get them a win.