Superstar duo Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown lead Celtics past Pacers

Who needs exercise when you can get your heart racing to 200 beats per minute by watching the Boston Celtics play a 53-minute game?

The Celtics once again make their fans go through a world of emotions as they successfully defended the Garden against the Indiana Pacers, 101-98.

How did the Boston Celtics fare against the Indiana Pacers?

It was a relatively slow game through three quarters, with the only scary moment being a Marcus Smart injury. It should be nothing but a short setback since he has superhuman self-healing powers. I am hopeful to see him back in action for the next Celtics’ game.

The Celtics made their fans’ stomachs churn as they entered the fourth quarter with only an eight-point lead since such a minimal lead often means bad things are to come. With 4:22 on the clock, Jaylen Brown, as Brian Scalabrine described it, had a Ray Allen-esque moment by nailing a corner three-pointer while coming off a pick with his feet barely set.

For future reference, the Boston Celtics may want to adhere to one of my basketball rules: Never let the most unpredictable player on the court have the ball in a close game. Since the home team ignored this, I believe that is what caused Lance Stephenson to hit a clutch three and then engage in his guitar-strumming celebration.

The Celtics were down four with less than a minute in regulation. Josh Richardson hits an amazing mid-range shot over Torrey Craig to bring us within two. With just seconds left on the clock, Jayson Tatum channeled his Laker idol and unleashed a beautiful 20-foot jump shot that rips nothing but net. The Celtics survive regulation.

Behind offensive contributions from Brown, Tatum, and Grant Williams, as well as defensive help from Robert Williams, the Celtics add a win to their record.

“Run Through The Tape.”

My account doesn’t even begin to describe how much anxiety this team puts its fans through. In a hypothetical situation where the opposition is down 12 with one minute left in the fourth, victory is 110 percent not guaranteed. I would never suggest a fan to switch off their TVs or head to the exits.

This game reminded me of the hilarious 100-yard dash between the crew of Inside the NBA. In that race, Chris Webber edged out Kenny Smith’s belly by emphatically running through the tape and then provided his golden words:

"“Run through the tape. In life, never give up. Run through the tape.”"

His performance that day could be a lesson for the Celtics to never lose focus, even in the final seconds. The Celtics always have to run through the tape. Coming back to the present, this game demonstrates this adage perfectly as Josh Richardson committed an ill-advised foul on a three-point attempt from Justin Holiday with time running out in overtime.

Despite the late-game theatrics, the Celtics won the game.

Both J’s ended the night with near even double-doubles, with Brown having 26 points and 15 rebounds and Tatum having 24 points and 12 rebounds. Robert Williams is also becoming quite the stat-sheet nightmare for oppositions as he also recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. He got fans back in the game by denying several shots.

This might have been the most uniform performance I have seen from both J’s in a long time. Though I wish for both of them to get 30-point double-doubles, this will do. In this showdown, Plan J succeeded. The Celtics head off to Indiana, hoping to defeat the Pacers again on January 12th.