Watch: Pascal Siakam's three saves Pacers from collapse

Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam. Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Watch: Pascal Siakam's three saves Pacers from massive collapse vs. Celtics

By Eric Smithling | Last updated Oct 30, 2024 9:55 PM ET

The Pacers avoided an epic collapse against the Celtics on Wednesday thanks to forward Pascal Siakam.

Indiana blew a 21-point fourth-quarter lead, with Celtics forward Jayson Tatum draining a three in the waning seconds of regulation to tie the game at 124.

Siakam hit the winning three-pointer with 6.1 seconds left in overtime to give Indiana (2-3) a 135-132 win.

PASCAL SIAKAM. CLUTCH.

Puts the Pacers up 3 with 6.1 seconds left in OT on ESPN! pic.twitter.com/lVxFwgchpx
— NBA (@NBA) October 31, 2024

Guard Tyrese Haliburton recorded an assist on the play — one of 12 for him on the evening — finding Siakam after the forward set a screen for Haliburton.

While it's still extremely early in the 2024-25 season, Wednesday's win was significant for the Pacers. They entered the game with only one win in their first four games, while the Celtics (4-1) breezed to a 4-0 start behind historic three-point shooting.

Boston's 86 threes through their first four games were the most in NBA history.

Wednesday's win could be massive for Indiana's confidence after entering the day losers of three in a row.

Haliburton had another off-night shooting, finishing 7-of-19 (including 2-of-10 from deep) while scoring 17 points.

Indiana withstood Haliburton's poor shooting performance and the squandered 21-point lead to defeat the Celtics.

That would be debilitating for most teams, but the Pacers overcame those faults to notch a signature win over the defending champions.

Eric Smithling

Eric Smithling is a writer based in New Orleans, LA, whose byline also appears on Athlon Sports. He has been with Yardbarker since September 2022, primarily covering the NFL and college football, but also the NBA, WNBA, men’s and women’s college basketball, NHL, tennis and golf. He holds a film studies degree from the University of New Orleans

More must-reads: