The Boston Celtics will aim to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season when they host the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.
Boston is coming off consecutive losses, falling to the Orlando Magic 108-104 and the Philadelphia 76ers 118-114. The loss to Philadelphia dropped the Celtics’ home record to 11-5, already surpassing the total home losses from last season when they finished 37-4 at TD Garden.
“We’re playing inconsistent basketball, so we’ve got to be better at both ends of the floor,” said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. “Got to be more consistent at both ends of the floor.”
The Christmas Day loss to the 76ers marked Boston’s first back-to-back defeats of the season. The Celtics are 3-4 in their last seven games.
“I think that’s a fair criticism from (Mazzulla),” said Al Horford in response to his coach’s comments. “We have to really dive into our work a little more and understand that we can’t relax during periods of the game, no matter the circumstance.
“We have to make sure that we’re a little better in that regard, and with this group, I know that we’re capable of getting it together. Now, we have to look at this opportunity to play Indiana and come out with better effort and intensity.”
Injuries remain a concern for the Celtics. They were without Jrue Holiday (shoulder) in the loss to the 76ers, and Kristaps Porzingis sustained an ankle injury in the first half. Both players are listed as questionable for Friday’s game.
“We’ve got to be better,” said Jayson Tatum. “It’s still a long season. Nobody’s panicking. We’ve got to handle the emotional roller coaster of the NBA season. It feels a lot worse than it actually is. We’re not panicking or anything. We’ve just got to man up and look in the mirror and figure out some things that we’ve got to do better.”
Meanwhile, Indiana will aim to secure a second victory over Boston this season. On October 30, the Pacers defeated the Celtics 135-132 in overtime, with Pascal Siakam hitting a three-pointer with 6.1 seconds remaining to break a tie.
In contrast to Boston, Indiana has been playing strong basketball. However, their five-game winning streak ended with a 120-114 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.
The Pacers may be without Obi Toppin, who sprained his left ankle in the first quarter against the Thunder. Toppin briefly returned but did not play in the second half.
“It didn’t seem like it was that bad initially, then he felt it when he went back out,” said Indiana coach Rick Carlisle. “I certainly assume he’ll miss (the game against Boston) and we’ll see. He’s been a guy who’s bounced back quickly.”
The Celtics and Pacers are set to meet again on Sunday in Boston.
