The Boston Celtics, the fourth-ranked team in our active NBA power rankings, hosted the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday. The Pacers, a team that has generally struggled of late, won the game in a contest that was fairly close at the final buzzer. They, the Pacers, put up a single-digit spread in the game, winning by 5 points on the road. The final score was Indiana 117, and Boston 112.
Pacers @ Celtics Wednesday: Jayson Tatum scores 41
With the loss, the Celtics are now 22-10 on the season. This is a team that has hit some kind of inexplicable slump. They have not suffered any kind of injury to a star player and so it really is a surprise to see them go just 4-6 over their last ten games. The top scorer in the game was Jayson Tatum. He had a very impressive 41 points in the game but will be dissatisfied with the team's overall performance.
The Celtics have lost a lot of ground to the Brooklyn Nets in the Atlanta Division recently. If the streaks for each team continue much longer, the Nets will be taking over the top spot soon.
Boston Celtics (updated): Ranked Team at a Glance
Overall record: 22-10
Home record: 11-5
Away record: 11-5
Winning/losing streak: L3
Last ten games: 4-6
Meanwhile, the Pacers improved to 16-16 with the 5-point victory. They remain an up-and-down team that's tough to read. It's not clear if their victory over Boston means that Indiana is getting back to the form that they had at the start of the season or if they just beat a slumping team. The Pacers sit eighth in the Eastern Conference and feel like a team that will contend on the playoff bubble this season.
Further reading: NBA Power Rankings
