In a thrilling showdown at Bainbridge Fieldhouse, the Indiana Pacers delivered a knockout blow to the Boston Celtics, securing a 122–112 victory and eliminating their rivals from the NBA’s in-season tournament on Monday night.
Adding a touch of salt to the Celtics’ wounds was the Pacers’ Buddy Hield, who, in the dying moments of the game, effortlessly sank a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded. While the shot held no significance in altering the outcome, it served as a poignant punctuation to the Pacers’ triumph, extending the lead from seven to a resounding 10 points.
The crowd erupted in cheers as Hield’s buzzer-beater found the mark, and the 30-year-old celebrated jubilantly with his teammates, symbolizing Indiana’s emphatic statement in the first-ever in-season tournament.
The Celtics, who had openly expressed their intention to run up the score in the tournament’s group stages, found themselves on the receiving end of Hield’s cheeky three-pointer. The group stage strategy aimed to impact the team’s placement in the knockout rounds based on point differentials.
In response to Hield’s seemingly needless three-pointer, Boston’s head coach, Joe Mazzulla, brushed off the incident with a nonchalant attitude. “I don’t care. I could care less,” remarked Mazzulla when reporters sought his thoughts on Hield’s late-game antics, as reported by Jay King of The Athletic.
The backstory of the Celtics’ strategic fouling during the group stages unfolded in a heated discussion between Mazzulla and Bulls coach Billy Donovan. In a blowout game, the Celtics tactically fouled Andre Drummond to widen their margin of victory. Despite being ahead by 32 points at the time, Mazzulla later issued an apology for the move.
Ultimately, it was Buddy Hield and the Pacers who had the last laugh, turning the tables with a petty yet satisfying three-pointer that not only sealed the victory but also added a touch of poetic justice to the in-season tournament saga.
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