Pacers
A hot night from the perimeter was all it took for the Pacers to take the Cavaliers on Thursday. How how? Try 19-of-31 on 3-pointers.
“You can’t ask for much better shooting than that,” Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith told reporters. “They shoot the ball like that, it’s going to be tough to beat us any night.”
Point guard Tyrese Haliburton was particularly lethal in the fourth quarter and the Pacers seemed to play with more energy because of it.
“When the ball goes into the basket, it makes you want to play that way,” said assistant coach Lloyd Pierce, who took over for the ejected Rick Carlisle. “We have to play that way. And Ty is our leader. He’s going to set the tone and the pace for us.”
Celtics
- Coach Joe Mazzulla has missed two straight games with a corneal abrasion suffered during a pickup game with the assistants. Former NBA point guard Damon Stoudamire is 2-0 in his place.
- Guard/forward Jayson Tatum passed Antoine Walker for second on the Celtics’ career 3-point shooting list in Thursday’s win over the Clippers. Tatum now has 941 threes for his career, trailing only Paul Pierce (1,823).
Raptors
Coach Nick Nurse was not pleased with the effort in Thursday’s home loss to the Grizzlies. The Raptors have lost five straight home games and eight of 10 overall.
“That’s pretty unacceptable with the effort we gave,” Nurse told reporters. “We’ve got to get focused and connected and get serious about playing harder.”
- The Raptors waived small forward Justin Champagnie, who appeared in just three games this season. Champagnie, 21, played 36 games with Toronto last season as a rookie. There seems to be a good chance he will still play for Raptors 905, or at least another G League team if not claimed off waivers.
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