What tank? Pacers shock Celtics for third straight win

Five days ago, the Indiana Pacers were the NBA's worst team. After shocking the Boston Celtics Monday night, they've moved to second-worst — and they're gaining on the Sacramento Kings.

Jay Huff sank four three-pointers and scored 20 points as the Pacers got past the Celtics for a 98-96 win. With Jaylen Brown out for Boston, Indiana won three straight games for the first time this season and began looking like the team that made the Finals last season.

The Indiana Pacers may be too good to truly tank

Indiana started the season short-handed after Tyrese Haliburton tore his Achilles in Game 7 of the NBA Finals and the team let Myles Turner leave for the Milwaukee Bucks in free agency. Things got worse with injuries to Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith, T.J. McConnell and Bennedict Mathurin, devastating the team's already thin depth.

While the team came one game away from an NBA title last season, the absence of their All-Star point guard made an Eastern Conference title defense quite unlikely. When Turner left, it looked like the Pacers might opt to take a "gap year" — declining to compete to get healthy and get a lottery pick, a rare opportunity for contenders. When the injuries began piling up, the decision went out of the Pacers' hands — they weren't good enough to win.

But with many of last year's players back from injury, the Pacers might be too good to truly tank. Pascal Siakam (23.5 PPG) has only missed one game. Monday, he hit the go-ahead basket with 6.1 seconds left to down the Celtics.