The reigning champion Boston Celtics finally faltered on Wednesday night, falling 135-132 to the Indiana Pacers in overtime. Indiana seemed to have the win clinched after going up 24 points in the third quarter, yet the Green Team roared back and even took a two-point lead in OT with 40 seconds remaining.

Yet, Pacers star Pascal Siakam ruined the Celtics' comeback with a clutch performance, tying the game on a fadeaway jumper with 37 seconds to go and draining the eventual game-winning triple 30 ticks later. This was Boston's first official loss since Game 4 of the 2024 NBA Finals over four months ago.

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla credited the Pacers for outmatching his previously undefeated squad, via NBC Sports Boston.

“They outplayed us. I thought we were a step behind in everything,” Mazzulla admitted. “Their speed. Their pace. They were a step ahead of us. It wasn't our best night. I thought we missed a ton of layups …We just didn't play our best and Indiana played great.”

Boston had a forgettable shooting night, converting on 33.3% of its 3-pointers and missing six important free throws (with three of those misses coming in overtime). Whenever the Celtics did miss, the Pacers were there for the rebound and moved the ball up the court as fast as possible to find open looks. This speedy offense worked, generating 29 fast break points to Boston's 21 and 135 total points on 33 assists.

Although he knows his guys were bested, Mazzulla still found positives in the Celtics' first loss of the season.

“You can focus on [us not playing our best], or you can focus on the fact that we stayed in it,” he said. “There's two things to focus on. Making sure we're not a half of a step behind. But you see what we're capable of at our best, top to bottom, and the guys fought, so that was good.”

It seemed like Indiana was on the verge of blowing Boston out in the third quarter. Instead, the Celtics erased a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter and tied the contest with 14 seconds left following a crucial 3-pointer from star Jayson Tatum. The five-time All-Star finished with 37 points, eight rebounds, and four steals in a little over 43 minutes.

Related Boston Celtics NewsArticle continues below
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) celebrates his three point shot against the Boston Celtics during the fourth quarter of game six in the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden.
Knicks fans sing Celtics back to Boston with ‘Goodbye’ chant
Celtics HC Joe Mazzulla sends heartfelt message to Tom Thibodeau after Knicks series
Celtics HC Joe Mazzulla sends heartfelt message to Tom Thibodeau after Knicks series

Despite the pivotal triple, Tatum's 3-point shot wasn't reliable for the majority of the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals rematch. He missed 13 of his 18 attempts from beyond the arc and fellow Celtics star Jaylen Brown hit just one of his 11 tries from 3-point range.

Conversely, Siakam shot 75% from deep and drained six triples, his most 3-point makes in a single game as a Pacer.

What's next on the schedule for the Celtics?

In the wake of their overtime thriller, the 4-1 Celtics will go back on the road to travel to North Carolina. There they'll play back-to-back games against the Charlotte Hornets, who are 2-2 and coached by former Celtics assistant Charles Lee.

After those two showdowns on Friday and Saturday, the C's head further south to take on the 2-3 Atlanta Hawks. The Hornets and Hawks didn't qualify for the 2024 NBA Playoffs, yet the Celtics lost in both of their buildings last season.

The Green Team will look to avoid another upset away from home before going back to TD Garden on Wednesday for a highly-anticipated clash with Team USA coach Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors.