WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2020 The Boston Globe Sports C5
At Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
BOSTON
FG FT Reb
Min M-A M-A O-T A F Pt PPG
Hayward .36 10-19 4-4 2-10 5 4 27 17.3
Tatum......36 11-22 5-6 1-6 2 1 30 23.6Theis........34 8-12 2-2 2-6 3 5 20 9.3
Walker.....3 03 -12 3-4 0-3 2011 21.2
Smart ......36 6-14 2-2 0-5 5 1 16 13.5
Langford .10 0-4 0-0 1-1 0 1 0 2.6
Ojeleye....21 1-5 0-0 1-6 0 1 3 3.1Wnmker..20 1-2 3-3 1-2 1 1 5 6.6
Kanter .....14 1-3 0-1 3-7 1 0 2 8.2
GWillims ...3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 3.5
Totals ...... 41-93 19-22 11-46 19 15 114
FG%: .441, FT%: .864. 3-pt. goals: 13-37, .351
(Hayward 3-7, Tatum 3-9, Theis 2-2, Walker 2-8,
Smart 2-6, Langford 0-1, Ojeleye 1-4). Team re-
bounds: 9. Team turnovers: 10 (14 pts.). Blocks:5 (Hayward, Theis 2, Wanamaker, Kanter).
Turnovers: 8 (Hayward 2, Walker 2, Smart, Ojel-
eye, Wanamaker, Kanter). Steals: 9 (Hayward 2,
Tatum 4, Wanamaker, Kanter, G.Williams).
FG FT RebINDIANA
Min M-A M-A O-T A F Pt PPG
Warren....34 9-18 3-3 4-5 0 4 22 18.7
Sabonis ...41 13-23 2-2 4-9 8 2 28 18.5
Turner .....36 7-11 1-2 1-8 1 3 16 11.8AHolday ..34 2-9 0-0 0-2 4 1 4 9.4
Oladipo ...29 9-16 4-4 0-7 4 3 27 13.8
JHoliday ..21 3-7 0-0 0-2 0 2 8 8.4
Sumner ...17 2-4 0-0 0-4 1 2 4 4.6Sampson.13 0-2 0-0 1-5 1 2 0 4.2
McConll...14 1-3 0-0 0-1 4 1 2 6.5
Totals ...... 46-93 10-11 10-43 23 20 111
(Warren 1-2, Sabonis 0-2, Turner 1-3, A.HolidayFG%: .495, FT%: .909. 3-pt. goals: 9-24, .375
0-4, Oladipo 5-7, J.Holiday 2-5, Sampson 0-1).
Team rebounds: 5. Team turnovers: 12 (15 pts.).
Blocks: 8 (Turner 4, Oladipo, J.Holiday 2, Sum-
ner). Turnovers: 12 (Warren 3, Sabonis 3, Turn-er 3, A.Holiday, Oladipo, Sumner). Steals: 5 (Sa-
bonis, Turner, A.Holiday, Oladipo, J.Holiday).
Technicals: Warren, 6:41/2nd.
Boston...........................30 29 35 20 — 114
Indiana..........................22 28 30 31 — 111
A — 17,053 (18,165). T — 2:07. Officials —
Kane Fitzgerald, Mark Ayotte, Aaron Smith.Celtics 114, Pacers 111BULLS 108, CAVS 103
CLEVELAND
FG FT Reb
Min M-A M-A O-T A F Pt
Osman.. 30 4-16 1-1 3-6 1 3 9
Love ...... 37 5-16 5-5 0-8 7 1 17
Drmnd... 35 8-14 5-9 2-7 2 5 21
Dellvdv.. 34 3-3 0-0 0-2 8 2 8
Sexton .. 36 12-16 2-2 0-3 5 1 26
Nance.... 32 6-6 2-4 1-4 6 1 16
McKinni 23 2-7 2-2 3-3 0 2 6
Mooney 13 0-2 0-0 0-2 0 0 0
Totals .... 40-80 17-23 9-35 29 15 103
FG%: .500, FT%: .739. 3-pt. goals: 6-
24, .250 (Osman 0-4, Love 2-13, Dellave-dova 2-2, Nance Jr. 2-2, McKinnie 0-2,
Mooney 0-1). Team rebounds: 7. Team
turnovers: 18 (20 pts.). Blocks: 5 (Os-
man, Drummond, Dellavedova, NanceJr., McKinnie). Turnovers: 18 (Love 3,
Drummond 6, Dellavedova 2, Sexton 5,
Nance Jr., McKinnie). Steals: 9 (Love,
Drummond 2, Dellavedova, Sexton,
Nance Jr. 2, McKinnie, Mooney). Tech-nicals: Drummond, 1:48/2nd.
CHICAGO
FG FT Reb
Min M-A M-A O-T A F Pt
Harrisn.. 30 3-7 2-2 4-10 4 5 8
Mrkknn. 27 6-13 0-0 2-4 0 3 15
Carter. .. 27 7-9 3-4 1-6 1 5 17
Valentin 23 6-12 0-0 0-1 2 1 15
White .... 38 7-17 4-5 0-5 5 1 20
Gafford. 21 2-2 1-1 2-4 1 1 5
Satrnsk. 29 2-7 0-0 3-8 5 1 5
Porter.... 25 6-11 1-1 1-4 2 2 15
Young ... 21 3-6 1-2 1-4 3 2 8
Totals .... 42-84 12-15 14-46 23 21 108
FG%: .500, FT%: .800. 3-pt. goals: 12-
34, .353 (Harrison 0-2, Markkanen 3-9,Valentine 3-6, White 2-7, Satoransky
1-3, Porter Jr. 2-5, Young 1-2). Team re-
bounds: 3. Team turnovers: 21 (32
pts.). Blocks: 6 (Harrison 3, Gafford 3).Turnovers: 21 (Markkanen 2, Carter Jr.
2, Valentine 2, White 9, Gafford 2, Sa-
toransky, Porter Jr., Young 2). Steals: 8
(Harrison, Markkanen, Carter Jr. 2, Val-
entine, Porter Jr. 2, Young). Technicals:def. 3-second, 8:13/1st.
Cleveland..............29 23 26 25 — 103
Chicago.................27 27 24 30 — 108
cials — Tom Washington, Kevin Cutler,A — 17,837 (20,917). T — 2:12. Offi-
Eric Dalen.SPURS 119, MAVS 109
DALLAS
FG FT Reb
Min M-A M-A O-T A F Pt
Lee......... 22 0-1 2-2 0-0 0 0 2
Porzngs 38 4-15 0-02- 12349
Finney... 38 6- 10 0-0 1-4 0315
Hardwy. 37 8-17 0-2 1-7 3 2 20
Doncic... 36 13-26 6-7 1-7 8 3 38
Jackson. 10 1-3 0-0 1-2 2 0 2
Wright... 19 3-5 0-0 1-4 4 2 7
Kleber... 31 5-9 0-0 0-5 3 3 12
Marjnvc .. 9 2-6 0-0 0-1 0 2 4
Totals .... 42-92 8-11 7-42 23 19 109
FG%: .457, FT%: .727. 3-pt. goals: 17-
44, .386 (Porzingis 1-8, Finney-Smith
3-6, Hardaway Jr. 4-9, Doncic 6-13,Jackson 0-1, Wright 1-2, Kleber 2-5).
Team rebounds: 10. Team turnovers:
14 (24 pts.). Blocks: 3 (Lee, Porzingis
2). Turnovers: 14 (Porzingis 2, Finney-
Smith 2, Hardaway Jr., Doncic 5,Wright 3, Kleber). Steals: 8 (Lee 2,
Finney-Smith,HardawayJr.2,Doncic
2, Wright). Technicals:.
SAN ANTONIO
FG FT Reb
Min M-A M-A O-T A F Pt
DeRozn. 35 5-12 3-4 2-5 12 1 13
Aldridge 37 10-23 3-4 0-2 2 1 24
Lyles...... 32 5-9 0-0 1-11 2 2 14
Forbes... 20 2-6 1-1 0-3 0 1 7
White .... 35 5-11 3-4 1-7 9 3 14
Mills ...... 19 5-5 0-0 0-1 3 3 12
Belinelli. 21 6-8 0-0 0-4 1 1 16
Eubanks.. 7 0-0 0-0 0-1 2 0 0
Gay........ 20 7-12 2-2 0-4 0 1 17
Johnson 13 1-3 0-0 2-2 1 2 2
Totals .... 46-89 12-15 6-40 32 15 119
FG%: .517, FT%: .800. 3-pt. goals: 15-
32, .469 (Aldridge 1-4, Lyles 4-7, Forbes2-5, White 1-4, Mills 2-2, Belinelli 4-6,
Gay 1-4). Team rebounds: 7. Team
turnovers: 12 (16 pts.). Blocks: 10
(Aldridge 4, Lyles, White 4, Eubanks).
Turnovers: 11 (DeRozan 3, Aldridge,Lyles, Forbes, White 3, Mills, Eubanks).
Steals: 11 (DeRozan 2, Aldridge 3,
Lyles, Forbes, White 2, Eubanks, John-
son).
Dallas.....................29 30 26 24 — 109
San Antonio..........27 27 29 36 — 119
A — 18,354 (18,797). T — 2:17. Offi-
cials — Josh Tiven, Tre Maddox, JT Orr.ROCKETS 117, WOLVES 111
MINNESOTA
FG FT Reb
Min M-A M-A O-T A F Pt
Okogie .. 36 2-5 3-4 1-4 3 1 7
Hrngmz. 30 6-12 2-2 1-10 0 2 18
Reid....... 23 5-8 1-2 0-4 3 4 11
Beasley. 33 2-11 0-0 0-3 1 1 5
Russell.. 34 8-15 7-9 0-6 5 2 28
Nowell..... 5 0-1 0-0 0-2 1 0 0
Johnson 25 7-14 0-0 2-6 3 2 16
McLghl.. 19 2-4 1-2 1-2 3 0 5
Layman. 17 3-5 2-2 3-3 0 5 9
Culver ... 18 5-8 1-2 0-1 2 3 12
Totals .... 40-83 17-23 8-41 21 20 111
FG%: .482, FT%: .739. 3-pt. goals: 14-
35, .400 (Hernangómez 4-8, Beasley1-5, Russell 5-12, Nowell 0-1, Johnson
2-4, McLaughlin 0-1, Layman 1-2, Cul-
ver 1-2). Team rebounds: 8. Team turn-
overs: 19 (17 pts.). Blocks: 0 Turnovers:
18 (Okogie, Reid 3, Beasley 3, Russell 6,Johnson 2, Layman 2, Culver). Steals: 9
(Hernangómez, Reid, Beasley, Russell
4, Johnson 2). Technicals: def. 3-sec-
ond, 9:06/2nd.
HOUSTON
FG FT Reb
Min M-A M-A O-T A F Pt
Tucker... 36 1-2 0-0 3-11 2 4 3
House.... 12 2-4 0-0 0-1 3 1 4
Covngtn 41 4-9 1-2 2-7 1 5 10
Westbrk 37 11-17 5-6 0-6 7 5 27
Harden.. 36 11-19 10-14 0-4 7 1 37
Gordon.. 30 5-15 4-4 0-2 1 1 16
McLemr 10 2-2 0-0 0-0 1 1 6
Rivers.... 18 4-6 0-0 0-0 1 1 11
Green.... 21 1-6 0-0 0-2 1 1 3
Totals .... 41-80 20-26 5-33 24 20 117
FG%: .513, FT%: .769. 3-pt. goals: 15-
38, .395 (Tucker 1-2, House Jr. 0-1, Cov-
ington 1-4, Harden 5-10, Gordon 2-9,
McLemore 2-2, Rivers 3-4, Green 1-6).
Team rebounds: 12. Team turnovers:18 (21 pts.). Blocks: 5 (Tucker 2, Cov-
ington 2, Harden). Turnovers: 16 (Tuck-
er, House Jr. 2, Covington 2, Westbrook
6, Harden 3, Gordon, Rivers). Steals: 9(Tucker 2, Covington, Westbrook 4,
Harden 2).
Minnesota.............35 21 24 31 — 111
Houston.................26 26 31 34 — 117
cials — Sean Wright, Tony Brown, NateA — 18,055 (18,023). T — 2:10. Offi-
Green.MAGIC 120, GRIZZLIES 115
ORLANDO
FG FT Reb
Min M-A M-A O-T A F Pt
Ennis III 23 2-4 2-2 1-2 2 4 7
Gordon.. 32 3-8 2-2 0-7 9 4 8
Vucevic. 35 9-15 0-0 1-11 7 4 19
Iwundu. 17 2-3 2-2 0-1 0 0 7
Fultz......3 26 -1 61 -2 3- 46214
Carter ... 25 6-9 6-6 2-3 0 3 20
Ross ...... 31 8-19 3-3 0-2 1 4 24
Augustn 24 5-12 4-4 1-2 4 3 16
Bamba .. 13 2-4 0-1 3-7 2 1 5
Clark ....... 9 0-2 0-0 1-2 0 1 0
Totals .... 43-92 20-22 12-41 31 26 120
33, .424 (Ennis III 1-2, Gordon 0-2,FG%: .467, FT%: .909. 3-pt. goals: 14-
Vucevic 1-4, Iwundu 1-2, Fultz 1-2,
Carter-Williams 2-3, Ross 5-11, Augus-
tin 2-4, Bamba 1-2, Clark 0-1). Team re-
bounds: 6. Team turnovers: 16 (17pts.). Blocks: 3 (Gordon, Ross 2). Turn-
overs: 15 (Ennis III, Gordon 2, Vucevic,
Iwundu, Fultz, Carter-Williams 2, Ross
3, Augustin 3, Clark). Steals: 10 (Ennis
III, Gordon, Fultz 3, Carter-Williams 2,Bamba 2, Clark). Technicals: Vucevic,
4:47/1st.
MEMPHIS
FG FT Reb
Min M-A M-A O-T A F Pt
Andersn 26 0-1 3-4 0-4 2 2 3
Brooks .. 34 7-16 3-3 0-0 1 4 21
Valncns. 36 9-10 9-13 4-16 0 2 27
Melton .. 26 3-10 0-0 2-7 6 1 7
Morant.. 35 7-16 6-8 1-4 5 4 21
Dieng..... 15 2-3 0-0 0-6 3 1 5
Jones..... 21 2-8 4-5 0-0 1 2 9
Jackson. 20 6-8 1-3 0-1 4 5 15
Konchar.. 9 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 1 2
Tolliver. 18 1-3 2-2 0-1 0 0 5
Totals .... 38-76 28-38 7-39 24 22 115
FG%: .500, FT%: .737. 3-pt. goals: 11-
29, .379 (Brooks 4-7, Melton 1-6, Mo-
rant 1-5, Dieng 1-1, Jones 1-4, Jackson2-3, Tolliver 1-3). Team rebounds: 13.
Team turnovers: 21 (26 pts.). Blocks: 5
(Anderson, Valanciunas, Melton, Dieng
2). Turnovers: 20 (Brooks 4, Valanciu-nas 5, Morant 5, Jones, Jackson 4, Toll-
iver). Steals: 7 (Brooks, Valanciunas,
Melton, Morant, Dieng, Jones, Jack-
son).
Orlando.................27 23 35 35 — 120
Memphis...............35 28 23 29 — 115
A — 15,388 (18,119). T — 2:20. Offi-
cials — Ed Malloy, Tyler Ford, Dedric
Taylor.NBA
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W L Pct. GB Streak Home Conf.
p-Milwaukee 53 12 .815 — L 3 28-3 34-5
p-Toronto 46 18 .719 6½ W 4 23-9 30-10
p-BOSTON 43 21 .672 9½ W 1 23-9 27-10
Miami 41 23 .641 11½ W 1 27-4 28-9
Indiana 39 26 .600 14 L 1 21-11 24-18
Philadelphia 38 26 .594 14½ L 1 28-2 25-16
*Brooklyn 29 34 .460 23 W 2 18-14 20-21
Orlando 29 35 .453 23½ W 2 16-15 19-18
Washington 24 40 .375 28½ W 1 16-16 17-23
Charlotte 22 42 .344 30½ L 1 10-21 15-24
Chicago 22 43 .338 31 W 1 14-20 15-28
New York 20 45 .308 33 L 1 11-22 14-28
Detroit 20 45 .308 33 L 4 11-22 12-30
Atlanta 20 46 .303 33½ W 1 14-19 11-31
Cleveland 19 46 .292 34 L 1 11-25 12-32
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W L Pct. GB Streak Home Conf.
*p-LA Lakers 49 13 .790 — W 4 23-7 33-7
*LA Clippers 43 20 .683 6½ L 1 25-7 26-14
Denver 43 21 .672 7 W 1 25-8 26-12
Utah 41 23 .641 9 L 1 21-10 21-16
Oklahoma City 40 24 .625 10 W 3 20-13 25-15
Houston 40 24 .625 10 W 1 22-10 25-17
Dallas 39 27 .591 12 L 2 18-15 24-15
Memphis 32 32 .500 18 W 1 18-14 19-22
New Orleans 28 36 .438 22 W 2 13-19 17-25
Sacramento 28 36 .438 22 L 1 14-17 20-20
*Portland 28 37 .431 22½ L 2 17-14 15-26
San Antonio 27 36 .429 22½ W 1 16-14 15-21
*Phoenix 26 38 .406 24 W 2 13-22 15-26
Minnesota 19 45 .297 31 L 3 8-24 9-30
*Golden State 15 49 .234 35 W 1 8-25 9-33
* — Not including late game
p — Clinched playoff berth
THE PLAYOFF FORMAT
The three division champions in eachconference, plus the next five
teams with the best records, qualify. Seeding is based solely on record.
TUESDAY’S RESULTS
BOSTON 114 atIndiana 111 Orlando 120 atMemphis 115
AtWashington 122 NewYork 115 Phoenix atPortland
AtChicago 108 Cleveland 103 LAClippers atGoldenSt.
At Houston 117 Minnesota 111 Brooklyn at LA Lakers
At San Antonio 119 Dallas 109
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
Detroit at Philadelphia 7 Utah at Okla. City 8
NewYorkatAtlanta 7:30 DenveratDallas 8
CharlotteatMiami 7:30 NewOrleansatSacramento 10 :3 0
MONDAY’S RESULTS
AtAtlanta 143 Charlott 138 (2OT) Toronto 101 atUtah 92
AtDenver 109 Milwaukee 95WIZARDS 122, KNICKS 115
NEW YORK
FG FT Reb
Min M-A M-A O-T A F Pt
Harklss. 12 2-3 0-0 1-1 1 0 4
Randle... 26 5-11 6-6 2-5 2 6 16Gibson .. 17 4-4 2-2 1-3 0 3 10
Payton .. 18 1-6 1-4 0-2 4 4 3
Barrett.. 30 5-15 5-7 1-6 1 1 16
Knox II .. 11 0-1 0-0 0-2 2 3 0Bullock.. 28 4-6 1-2 0-2 3 2 10
Robinsn 25 4-5 2-2 2-3 0 3 10
Ntilikina 30 6-9 5-6 0-2 10 5 20
Portis .... 27 9-15 1-2 1-6 5 1 20
Ellingtn. 16 2-6 0-0 0-4 2 1 6Totals .... 42-81 23-31 8-36 30 29 11521, .381 (Barrett 1-5, Knox II 0-1, Bull-FG%: .519, FT%: .742. 3-pt. goals: 8-
ock 1-2, Ntilikina 3-5, Portis 1-2, Elling-
ton 2-6). Team rebounds: 9. Team turn-
overs: 19 (28 pts.). Blocks: 3 (Gibson,
Bullock, Portis). Turnovers: 18 (Randle4, Gibson, Payton, Barrett 5, Bullock 3,
Ntilikina 2, Portis, Ellington). Steals: 10
(Randle, Gibson, Payton, Barrett 4, Nti-
likina 2, Ellington). Technicals: Ntiliki-na, 2:23/3rd.
A — 15,048 (20,308). T — 2:33. Officials
— David Guthrie, Gediminas Petraitis,
Ray Acosta.
New York..............31 39 17 28 — 115
Washington..........36 18 33 35 — 122WASHINGTON
FG FT Reb
Min M-A M-A O-T A F Pt
Je.Rbns. 14 0-2 0-0 1-1 1 1 0
Hachimr 29 4-6 4-4 0-7 2 1 12Bryant... 24 5-9 3-4 4-10 2 2 14
Napier... 38 6-12 6-6 0-2 6 3 21
Beal....... 39 11-25 14-16 0-3 7 2 40
Mathws .. 9 1-3 2-2 0-0 0 2 5Wagner. 21 3-4 4-4 3-3 1 4 10
Bertans. 29 3-9 2-3 0-2 3 5 11
Brown ... 24 2-4 3-4 1-6 1 1 9
Pascnks.. 3 0-0 0-2 0-0 0 1 0
Payton .. 10 0-0 0-0 0-3 0 3 0Schofild .. 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals .... 35-74 38-45 9-37 23 25 122
FG%: .473, FT%: .844. 3-pt. goals: 14-
35, .400 (Je.Robinson 0-2, Hachimura
0-1, Bryant 1-2, Napier 3-7, Beal 4-10,
Mathews 1-2, Bertans 3-9, Brown Jr.
2-2). Team rebounds: 11. Team turn-overs: 19 (22 pts.). Blocks: 4 (Je.Robin-
son, Hachimura 2, Beal). Turnovers: 16
(Hachimura, Napier 4, Beal 5, Wagner,
Bertans, Brown Jr. 3, Payton II). Steals:8 (Bryant, Napier 3, Beal 3, Payton II).
Technicals: def. 3-second, 1:19/2nd,
Bertans, 7:05/3rd, Napier, 2:23/3rd.
A — 15,048 (20,308). T — 2:33. Offi-
cials — David Guthrie, Gediminas Pe-traitis, Ray Acosta.Upstart BU one win from NCAA Tournament
By Matthew Doherty
GLOBE CORRESPONDENT
Boston University men’s basket-
ball coach Joe Jones points to a
mid-December nonconference
game against Dartmouth as the
turning point of the season.
The Terriers entered that
matchup at 3-7 and reeling on a
five-game losing streak. But after
holding off a late run to defeat
Dartmouth and snap the skid,
Jones watched his team take off
with confidence and rattle off 12
wins in its next 15 games.
BU’s resurgence earned them
the third seed in the Patriot League
tournament, where they proceeded
to knock off Navy in the quarter-
finals and Bucknell in the semi-
finals to reach Wednesday night’s
title game at top-seeded Colgate
(7:30 p.m., CBSSN). The winner
will earn the league’s automatic
berth to the NCAA Tournament.
“Just getting that win against
Dartmouth changed everything for
us,” said Jones, who’s in his ninth
year with the Terriers. “From there
we started playing better basket-
ball more consistently. The big
thing in Patriot League play was
that we were very consistent with
our focus and energy.”
Forward Max Mahoney, a 6-
foot-8-inch first-team All-Patriot
League selection, leads the Terriers
in both scoring (15.4) and re-
bounding (8.2), while redshirt
sophomore Walter Whyte returned
from missing last season because of
an injury to average 13 points per
contest.
BU (20-13, 12-6) is searching for
the program’s first Patriot title
since joining the league in 2013,and their first NCAA Tournament
appearance since 2011.
Jones said he has been getting
goosebumps when people have
mentioned the possibility of reach-
ing the tournament to him.
“It’s the ultimate goal for every
program,” Jones said. “To be able to
go celebrate with our BU family
and represent the university on a
national stage would be an awe-
some thing.”
In order to reach the big dance,
BU will have to take down a Col-
gate team that brought back a bulk
of its core from last year’s NCAA
Tournament squad.
All five Colgate starters average
double-figure scoring, led by Jor-
dan Burns and Will Rayman, a pair
of All-Patriot League first-teamers.
“They [Colgate] bring a lot of
challenges because they have a lotof guys who can score and who can
shoot the ball at a high level, so you
have to make sure you don’t give up
a ton of threes,” Jones said. “There’s
a lot that you have to overcome to
beat them.”
BU lost to Colgate (25-8, 14-4)
twice in the regular season — 79-70
in late January in New York and 79-
63 two weeks later in Boston.
After the semifinal win over
Bucknell on Sunday, Whyte said he
believes the Terriers have improved
since the second loss to Colgate on
Feb. 10. BU enters Wednesday’s fi-
nal having won three in a row and
four of five.
“We just got closer as a team,”
Whyte said. “We honed in on the
little things, getting stops, re-
bounding, 50-50 balls. We take
pride in getting those. It’s going to
be scary facing us another time.”Players adapting
to new protocols
because of virus
By Adam Himmelsbach
GLOBE STAFF
INDIANAPOLIS — Before his team’s morning
shootaround Tuesday, Celtics coachBradSte-
venswalked into an interview room, took a step
up to a podium, and sat down
before scanning the collection of
reporters in front of him.
“This is kind of weird,” he
said, hours before his team blew a 19-point lead,
but still beat the host Pacers, 114-111, to end a
two-game skid.
Typically, morning shootaround media avail-
abilities are incredibly informal, with players
chatting with individual reporters in courtside
seats before Stevens stands on the court and
takes his turn. But as the NBA searches for ways
to protect its players from the coronavirus, it has
begun making minor changes to their day-to-day
lives on the job.
Team locker rooms are closed to all media,
and most interview sessions will take place in
news conference-style group settings, with play-
ers expected to stay at least 6 feet away from me-
dia members.
“I guess it’s just getting real serious,” Celtics
point guardKembaWalkersaid. “I don’t know.
It’s crazy. I don’t know what to say about it, to
tell you the truth.”
Limiting players’ exposure to media and oth-
er nonessential game-day personnel is just a lim-
ited shift, of course. For now, the games go on.
But around the NBA, there is growing angst
about what the next steps might be depending
on how the situation unfolds, including the pos-
sibility of playing games without fans, or per-
haps postponing games altogether.
“Nobody wants to play without fans,” Stevens
said. “That would be really too bad, but totally
understand if those decisions are made. They’re
made by people that are much more qualified
than us to make them.
“Other than that, that would be my No. 1 con-
cern after the fact, that this thing is built on fans.
This thing is built on people liking it, and the
reason why we’re all where we are and get a
chance to do this for a living, and make a good
living, is because people are interested.
“It’s counterintuitive not to have people in the
stands. But again, they’ll have to make the deci-
sion on what’s in the best interest for everybody’s
health.”
At the very least, the league has advised play-
ers to limit interactions with fans; Walker said
he hopes they understand why players might be
pulling back a bit in the coming weeks.
“Not trying to be disrespectful, but at the end
of the day, we have to look out for our well-be-
ing,” he said. “Autographs and pictures at this
moment is probably going to be tough. I think
everybody’s a little nervous about it. A lot of us
are probably going to stay away from it as much
as we can.”
As the virus spreads through the United
States, it has not been directly connected to a
major professional sports league yet. On Tuesday
morning, the Celtics mostly said that little has
changed for them since they were briefed about
safety protocols earlier this month.
They are paying attention to their hygiene
and their interactions with others, but their daily
schedules have hardly been altered. They seem
cautious and aware, but hardly terrified.
"I'm just kind of going through my routine
day by day,” guardMarcusSmartsaid, “just do-
ing everything I can to stay on track with making
sure my immune system is well, my whole body's
well, just keeping myself and everybody safe
around me.”
Added Walker, “Obviously, I don’t want to
catch it. None of us do. So I think we’re all being
more cautious of our surroundings.”
Brownclosetocourtreturn
JaylenBrownremained sidelined with a
strained hamstring, but there is a chance he
could play against the Bucks on Thursday.
“He’s close enough that he is in the progres-
sion to play,” Stevens said. “But it also could be
that deal where he needs Thursday to do one
more set of things.”
Stevens said that Brown did some stop-and-
start running at the team’s morning shoot-
around and that he was moving a bit better than
he was a couple days ago.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at
adam.himmelsbach @globe.com. Follow him on
Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.
CELTICS
NOTEBOOK
Pacersroar,butCelticswin
take a 3-point lead, the Celtics
steadied themselves before it
was too late.
They closed the game with
a 10-4 run and escaped with a
114-111 victory.
“Just tried to compose our-
selves there,” Gordon Hay-
ward said. “They made a ridic-
ulous run. Especially with ev-
erything we’ve been going
through, we could’ve col-
lapsed. We just tried to kind of
hold it together, and I think we
made some plays there at the
end.”
A Domantas Sabonis 3-
point play with 2:14 left gave
the Pacers a 107-104 lead and
ignited this sleepy crowd. Ste-
vens said that the usually
mild-mannered Hayward was
the one igniting his team-
mates during this brief break.
He realized how another col-
lapse might fully derail this
year.
“Gordon was talking,” Mar-
cus Smart said. “That's very
rare.”
Oladipo missed a 3-pointer
with 1:54 left that could have
been the crushing blow. At the
other end, Hayward probed in
the lane and passed up a layup
to find Daniel Theis open at
the top of the key. Theis, a 30.4
percent 3-point shooter when
the night began, drilled this
one to tie the score with 1:43
remaining.
“At the time, when I passed
it I thought, ‘Man, maybe I
should have shot that layup,’ ”
Hayward said. “I was pretty
open. But down 3, I thought,
have confidence in him. So
that was a big-time shot, a
huge shot.”
It was 109-all when Marcus
Smart drove on Sabonis and
converted a tough layup. The
Celtics played strong defense
on the next possession and
forced a tough Oladipo 3-
pointer that was off. Kemba
Walker only hit one of two free
throws after he was fouled,
however, making it 112-109
with 17.4 seconds left.
A Sabonis putback with 7.8
seconds left pulled the Pacers
back within 1. The ensuing in-
bounds pass was rocky for the
Celtics, perhaps bringing back
sour memories from Sunday’s
collapse against the Thunder,uCELTICS
Continued from Page C1when a similar situation end-
ed with a steal, a layup and a
loss.
Walker stumbled when
there was contact, and the ball
was eventually lofted toward
Smart in the backcourt, who
battled with Sabonis before
gathering it and being fouled.
Smart made both free throws,
and Boston’s zone defense did
not allow Justin Holiday to get
a clean look, as his long 3-
pointer was an airball.
“I think we probably need-
ed it,” Stevens said. “We proba-bly need to have something
like that happen, go down 3
and find a way to win. It's
probably a good thing for our
team in the long run. I mean,
it’s like we’ve got to get better
in the middle of quarter and
we've got to get better at the
end of quarters. But we proba-
bly needed that. That was
hard. That's a good thing.”
The Celtics, who were once
again without Jaylen Brown,
did have plenty of good mo-
ments that preceded their
near-collapse, though.
Jayson Tatum, who had
been mired in a shooting rut
since returning from the re-
cent Western Conference road
trip, hit 11 of 22 shots and had
a game-high 30 points. Hay-
ward chipped in with 27
points and 10 rebounds, and
Theis had 20 points, including
his critical late 3-pointer.
“Tonight, we had four
games to get ready for tonight,
I guess you can say, to get
ready for that punch,” Tatum
said. “Whereas those other
games we were caught off
guard.
“The first game it hap-
pened, the second game, third
game, we were like ‘What’s go-
ing on tonight?’ It happened
[tonight] and we knew exactly
what to do and not to do in
that situation and that’s to
keep our composure and keep
poise and keep going.”Adam Himmelsbach can be
reached at adam.himmelsbach
@globe.com. Follow him on
Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.AJ MAST/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Victor Oladipo shone Tuesday, playing one of his best games since missing a year-plus.AJ MAST/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kemba Walker (3-for-12, 11 points) appears to take the
brunt of a first-half collision with Pacer Aaron Holiday.