Following the Indiana Pacers’ 129-124 defeat to the Boston Celtics, Kristaps Porzingis commended his rivals’ style of play for making them appear unprofessional.
The Indiana Pacers, who were on a three-game winning run, went to TD Garden on Tuesday night to play the Boston Celtics in an attempt to make it four.
Starting strong, Boston led by 15 points at the half after Tyrese Haliburton’s halfcourt basket trimmed the deficit to 18 points at the buzzer in the second quarter.
But the Pacers battled back, even taking the lead briefly in the third quarter, even though Haliburton was forced to end the game earlier than he would have preferred because of a minutes restriction.
Sadly, they were unable to complete the task as the Celtics recovered magnificently, defeating the Pacers 129-124 despite blowing a 20-point lead.
The manner in which the Pacers managed to remain in the game? offensive rebounds.
Indiana scored 31 points on 21 second-chance opportunities after grabbing 19 offensive rebounds. The Celtics, on the other hand, managed just seven offensive rebounds, eight shots, and six points.
Though it would have been simple to blame the Celtics for the Pacers’ on-court success for their lack of effort, Kristaps Porzingis had the opposite opinion.
He claimed that despite the Celtics’ best efforts, the Pacers’ fast-paced style of play and unwavering energy on the glass “make you look bad.”
Yes, we didn’t play our best basketball in the second half, Porzingis admitted. It didn’t feel like we didn’t play hard, to be honest. We had a great time playing. Naturally, for us, it’s a back-to-back. However, they are the kind of squad that, because of their relentless pursuit of offensive rebounds and frantic movement, can make you look horrible. They engage in riotous play. They score those second-chance points, which makes a terrible impression and saps our energy as well as the enthusiasm of the audience.
It’s difficult and unpleasant to play against them. However, we did battle, and ultimately, we prevailed. Well done, then, in the end. That’s all there is to it. We can definitely learn something from this game, once more.
