Bennedict Mathurin's free throws give Pacers win vs. Celtics after Haliburton's injury

INDIANAPOLIS -- Bennedict Mathurin hit two free throws with 0.6 left to give the Pacers a 133-131 win over the Celtics on a night when All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton left the game with a left hamstring injury.

The Pacers have won seven of their last eight games and improved to 21-15. The Celtics still have the NBA's best record at 28-8.

Here are four observations.

Pacers news: Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton leaves game against Celtics with left hamstring strain

Tyrese Haliburton leaves game with injury, but Pacers respond

Haliburton slipped twice on the floor near the south bucket at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The first time he wiped out on a drive but then got up easily. The second time he did a split with his right leg going forward while his left leg stayed behind. He was instantly in serious pain, and though he managed to stand up, he was carried off the floor by veterans and close friends Buddy Hield and James Johnson. At halftime, the Pacers announced that Haliburton had suffered a left hamstring strain and would not return to the game.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said after the game that Haliburton would undergo an MRI on Tuesday.

"It's a very deflating moment," Carlisle said. "We hope that's not serious. We'll find out tomorrow. I know you guys know he's getting an MRI tomorrow, which is pretty obvious."

Haliburton, who entered the game averaging 24.2 points and an NBA-leading 12.7 assists per game, already had seven points and six assists before suffering the injury with 3:10 to go in the second quarter. The Pacers had to start second-year guard Andrew Nembhard at the point in the second half in his first game since spraining his back against the Bucks on Jan. 1. He had to check out shortly after, however, as he picked up his fourth foul in less than 6:30 of game action. The Pacers had to rely heavily on veterans T.J. McConnell and Bruce Brown to man the backcourt the rest of the way.

The Pacers were initially staggered after the injury. The Celtics went on an 8-3 run to go up by 11 points. However, the Pacers rallied with a sensational third quarter. They outscored the Celtics 44-33, shooting 15 of 22 from the floor, 4 of 7 from 3 and 10 of 10 at the line to post an incredible 1.61 points per possession.

In the fourth quarter they played the Celtics even. The Pacers took a lead as great as seven points, but the Celtics fought back and took a 131-129 lead with 1:05 to go on a 3-pointer by big man Kristaps Porzingis. However, McConnell tied the game on a driving layup with 43 seconds left. The two teams traded misses and the Pacers were fortunate on a reversed foul call on wing Buddy Hield against Celtics forward Buddy Hield with 3.2 seconds to go. Mathurin then drew a three-shot foul from Porzingis with 0.6 seconds left and hit two free throws before purposefully missing the third and the Celtics missed an opportunity to try to tie the game at the buzzer.

"When your best player goes down like that, it's hard not to deflate a little bit as a team," forward Aaron Nesmith said. "As soon as he went down we kinda pulled the guys in and said we can't affect the way this game goes for us. I think we did a good job, (Mathurin) did a good job of making sure we kept our foot on the gas pedal."

Pacers get scoring from Mathurin, Turner, Hield and Nesmith

One of the dominant critiques of the Pacers roster as they head to the trade deadline less than a month away is that it lacks a clear No. 2 option behind Haliburton to pick up the slack when opponents dedicate defensive resources to taking him away.

There have been times this season when they've needed someone to step up to score at Haliburton's level and it hasn't happened. However, on Monday night they had several potential No. 2s step up when they were needed.

Mathurin, a first-team All-Rookie pick last year who would seem to be the Pacers' best bet to be the eventual No. 2, carried the Pacers in the first half before the Haliburton injury with 13 first-quarter points on 5 of 5 shooting and ended up with 26 points on 8 of 15 shooting including 5 of 9 from 3-point range. Big man Myles Turner, scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds and forward Aaron Nesmith came through from outside with 17 points, shooting 6 of 10 from the floor and 3 of 5 from 3-point range. Hield has been struggling from outside, but he hit some big shots when they were needed, finishing with 15 points on 6 of 11 shooting and 3 of 7 from 3-point range.

Mathurin in particular was critical. With Haliburton out, the Pacers drew up the last shot for him because he'd shown an ability to create space throughout the game and make shots.

"His abilities are special," Carlisle said. "He's growing more and more into the role."

T.J. McConnell steps up in Haliburton's absence

There's never a time when Pacers veteran point guard T.J. McConnell is on the floor when he isn't going full tilt, but he always seems to know how to find another gear whenever Haliburton is struggling, facing stifling defensive attention or out with injury. As usual, he did exactly that on Monday night when Haliburton went out.

In that third quarter alone, he scored eight points and had three assists, two rebounds and a steal and gained another possession when he knocked the ball out of bounds off a Celtics player. His ferocity energized everyone else, and he was the first to thump teammate Jalen Smith in the chest after a major block on Jalen Brown. He was +13 in that quarter alone and he finished with 12 points, 7 assists, four rebounds and two steals to finish +10 for the game.

"T.J. McConnell is a great backup point guard," Carlisle said. "He's one of the very best. You just run out of things to list as intangibles with him."

Pacers can't stop Jaylen Brown until the end

The Pacers didn't have to deal with two All-NBA wings with Boston's Jayson Tatum out with an ankle injury after Saturday's 38-point explosion in Boston's win, but one was still tough enough. Forward Jaylen Brown caused the Pacers a lot of problems in the same way he did on Saturday night, hunting mismatches and backing weaker defenders down toward the bucket and driving past bigger ones.

Brown scored 25 points in the first half alone on 11 of 14 shooting including 2 of 2 from 3-point range and he didn't get any easier to stop in the second half. He finished with 40 on 17 of 26 shooting.

That said, he missed two key shots in the final minute. With 32 seconds left he rushed and missed a pull-up. Then he was blocked with 3.2 to go on the play that was initially called a foul then reversed on replay. Hied acknowledged "angels was with me" and that he may have hit Brown's head after he blocked the shot.

"I think he obviously hit me in the head," Brown said. "I think that play needs some investigation. That's all I'm gonna say."

Pacers stats vs. Celtics

BOSTON (131): Horford 4-5 0-0 11, J.Brown 17-26 3-5 40, Porzingis 6-13 6-7 19, Holiday 9-16 0-0 21, White 4-16 3-3 13, Banton 0-0 0-0 0, Kornet 1-4 3-4 5, Mykhailiuk 0-0 2-4 2, Brissett 1-4 3-6 6, Pritchard 5-6 0-0 14. Totals 47-90 20-29 131.

INDIANA (133): Nesmith 6-10 2-3 17, Smith 3-8 4-4 11, Turner 7-13 1-2 16, B.Brown 1-6 4-4 7, Haliburton 3-5 0-0 7, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Toppin 4-5 2-2 13, Mathurin 8-15 5-7 26, Nembhard 4-6 0-0 9, Hield 6-11 0-0 15, McConnell 6-12 0-0 12. Totals 48-91 18-22 133.

3-Point Goals—Boston 17-35 (Pritchard 4-5, Horford 3-4, J.Brown 3-4, Holiday 3-6, White 2-8, Brissett 1-4, Porzingis 1-4), Indiana 19-40 (Mathurin 5-9, Toppin 3-4, Nesmith 3-5, Hield 3-7, B.Brown 1-1, Nembhard 1-2, Haliburton 1-3, Turner 1-3, Smith 1-4, McConnell 0-2). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Boston 42 (Pritchard 7), Indiana 39 (Smith 9). Assists_Boston 26 (Porzingis 7), Indiana 29 (McConnell 7). Total Fouls_Boston 20, Indiana 23. A_16,009 (20,000)

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers vs. Celtics: Mathurin's free throws bring win after Haliburton injury