3 takeaways from the Boston Celtics 119-100 victory over the Indiana Pacers

CelticsBlog.com

The Boston Celtics took down the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night, 119-110. It marked their second win in a row against Indiana, as well as the team’s second three-game win streak all season. What are some of the top takeaways from the contest?

3 takeaways from the Boston Celtics win vs. the Indiana Pacers

1. Stars reigned supreme

The Celtics were paced by their two All-Star Wednesday night, as Jayson Tatum scored 33 and Jaylen Brown added 34. Throw in the 23 by Dennis Schroder and Boston got 90 of 119 points from their big three. Hard to contain them when all three of them get it going.

2. Can health and a lighter schedule facilitate a climb in the Eastern Conference standings?

At 21-21, the season is just over halfway done, and Boston is 10th in the Eastern Conference standings. The next two games are at Philadelphia (Embiid is playing lights out, scoring 30+ points in eight straight) on Friday, followed by a matchup with the East-leading Chicago Bulls.

After that, the schedule gets lighter than pancake batter. This may be the best time to make a run up the standings, especially as the team is getting healthy.  There are rumors about players like Marcus Smart and Schroder being moved at the deadline, but this is as healthy as this team has been in a while. Let's hope they can keep it going.

3. Defense continuing to trend up

The Celtics defense has held its last three opponents under 100 points (and five of their last eight). Coach Ime Udoka wants this team to be tougher on the defensive end, which he hopes will translate into easier buckets in transition late in games, as the fourth-quarter offense continues to struggle. Look out for both ends of the floor to get better as team’s health improves.