Pascal Siakam’s floater lifts Pacers past Celtics
Pascal Siakam scored a go-ahead basket with 6.8 seconds left on Monday night to propel the Indiana Pacers to a 98-96 victory over the Boston Celtics in Indianapolis.
Siakam produced 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists while Jay Huff scored 20 points and Andrew Nembhard chipped in 13 points and nine assists for the Pacers, who have won a season-high three straight games. Jarace Walker added 11 points off the bench.
Payton Pritchard led Boston with 23 points, followed by Derrick White's 18 and Anfernee Simons' 16. Neemias Queta added 15 points for the Celtics, who have dropped three of their last four games.
Trailing by three at halftime, Indiana scored the first eight points of the second half and took a 61-56 lead on Huff's 3-pointer with 8:25 remaining in the third.
The lead ballooned to 13 on Nembhard's 3-pointer at the 4:43 mark, but Boston finished the third on a 17-6 run. Luka Garza's mid-range jumper pulled the Celtics within 79-77 entering the fourth.
Jordan Walsh's dunk and White's 3-pointer cut Boston's deficit to 91-90 with 4:52 remaining. After Siakam's putback layup put the Pacers ahead by five, Pritchard's triple cut Indiana's lead to 96-94 with 2:16 left.
White's layup tied the score with 29.1 seconds to go, which set up Siakam's game-winning floater off the glass. White missed a 3-point attempt as time expired.
Neither side took a lead larger than four until White's four straight points stamped an 8-0 Boston run to give the visitors a 24-17 lead. Micah Potter's basket cut Indiana's deficit to five entering the second quarter.
Walker's 3-pointer knotted the score at 38 apiece at the 7:32 mark of the second. Siakam's three-point play and Huff's dunk gave the Pacers a 46-43 lead, which forced a Boston timeout with 5:35 left in the first half.
After Pritchard's layup gave the Celtics a three-point edge, Siakam's basket trimmed Boston's halftime lead to 56-53.