5 comments on Kemba Walker’s big night that put the Celtics on the Pacers

The Boston Celtics got a little breathing space on Friday, beating a three-game losing streak with a 118-112 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Five lessons of a sigh of relief for Boston.

Kemba Walker changed his tone in the first room.

The Celtics fought early and appeared to be on their way to yet another catastrophic defeat, with the Pacers almost instantly rising to a double-digit lead.

Then, with the Celtics losing 18-4, Kemba Walker took over. Walker conceded 10 points and conceded two assists in the first quarter alone on his way to a great night (32 points out of 10 out of 19 shots, six assists, three rebounds). Boston’s 14-point deficit evaporated and the Celtics regained their 32-31 lead after one.

Walker’s performance somewhat resembled the way the Celtics used to use Isaiah Thomas – pick-and-roll attack with Walker dribbling around the canvases and circling the painting of dribble sets. His attack was a huge uprising.

The Celtics need to play Robert Williams as long as they can.

Walker was Boston’s best player on Friday, but Williams may have been second – 14 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Offensively, Williams pressed the defense around the edge and made some high-level passes. Defensively, he swallowed the rebounds and made the drivers think twice.

Stevens said the Celtics limited Williams’ minutes in hopes of improving it over the course of the season. Williams’ hips are a concern, and the Celtics are justifiably taking care of their health – the last thing they want is a minor, persistent injury to turn into something more serious.

Still, the Celtics must take every minute they can from Williams. He played well and continues to show high-level potential at the center, even though the Celtics still rely on strong veteran Daniel Theis for the final minutes.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown finally got some support.

Tatum and Brown were a combined 9 of 30 on the floor with 24 points. Tatum, in particular, struggled, scoring just nine points from 4 out of 18 shots.

And yet, the Celtics still won by throwing 51.2 percent of the field and 40.9 percent of the 3-point line. Remove the Brown and Tatum lines from the scoreboard and Boston hit 63.4 percent as a team.

That is the power of depth. The Boston season was teetering on the brink of total collapse (and, frankly, it may have already started its fall), but if Friday’s game sparks anything at halftime, it may not be an exaggeration to say that the 32-point night from Kemba Walker saved the Celtics Season.

Response to the 4th quarter collapse

The Celtics got a double-digit lead nine minutes from time. Almost instantly, the Pacers eliminated him with a 9-0 run covering just 1: 2 of playing time.

The Celtics’ response, however, was encouraging. Again, Walker spurred him on – he buried a float, then a long jump to push Boston’s lead back to six. The Pacers reduced to three at the end, and Aaron Holiday’s open triple with just under a minute remaining seemed like a block to tie the game.

Instead, he shook the rim and Daniel Theis hit a 3-point corner on the other end that put the Celtics in control. The free throws in the stretch froze the competition, despite a bizarre 3-point basket by Domantas Sabonis that bounced high at the top of the table and fell.

The Celtics’ problems in the fourth quarter were not resolved after a victory, of course – they still committed fouls early and often, and still had a chance to step back that they gave up.

But Friday’s performance – mainly because it was spurred on by Walker – was certainly a step forward.

The Celtics’ rotations were intriguing.

Interestingly, Grant Williams and Semi Ojeleye did not play on Friday. Aaron Nesmith, who had an enlarged view recently, played just seven minutes, while Javonte Green started the fourth period and was removed shortly thereafter.

Stevens’ rotation to help his team achieve a victory was mainly made up of veterans, in addition to Payton Pritchard, who topped the 30 minutes for the second time this season.

The Celtics will look a lot at Williams, Ojeleye and Nesmith going forward, of course, but Stevens cut the minutes for younger players, which was noteworthy.