Before Game 1, Pacers coach Nate McMillan reflected on his team
Before Game 1, Pacers coach Nate McMillan reflected on his team’s regular-season series with the Celtics, one in which the C’s took three out of four, and noted that one area in which they were hurt was how the Celtics beat them in transition by starting quickly in the first and third quarters.
The Pacers likely pleased their coach by getting off to a good start in Game 1, but it was the third quarter that got away from them in what eventually became an 84-74 loss at TD Garden.
The Pacers hit the C’s in the mouth early on their way to a seven-point halftime lead, but it went completely the other way after halftime, as the Celtics imposed their will defensively, and the Pacers lost their way offensively. That seven-point halftime lead quickly turned into an 11-point hole.
Pacers forward Thaddeus Young had an obviously simple explanation of what happened.
“We just didn’t make enough shots,” Young said. “We had a lot of good looks in that third where we were coming down in transition and we were getting wide-open looks, they were rattling in and out. We just missed shots.”
Indeed, missed shots played a huge factor. The Pacers missed their first 11 shots in the third, and didn’t make their first field goal of the quarter until there was 3:28 left — and they needed the aid of a goaltending call to get it. By then, the Celtics had opened up a 60-50 advantage.
