Celtics cruise past Pacers
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[March 23, 2017]
BOSTON -- Al Horford likes what
he sees from his team as it steams toward the NBA playoffs.
"I think the guys are starting to understand that we're playing for
bigger things and we have a chance to ... to see what we can do,"
Horford said after his Boston Celtics cruised to a 109-100 victory
over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night.
The win, coming in Boston's first game after clinching a playoff
spot while idle Tuesday, completed a three-game sweep of the season
series with the Pacers. Side note: The last time that happened, in
2007-08, the Celtics won the NBA championship.
The still-growing team would be, at best, an extreme long shot to do
something like that again, but this team is alive in the chase for
the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference. Their win and the
Cleveland Cavaliers' loss at Denver cut the lead down to a game --
two in the loss column.
The Celtics, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Washington Wizards for the
second spot in the conference, are 25-9 at home and have won 12 of
their last 13 at TD Garden and Wednesday was the second game of a
six-game homestand for a team with only three road games remaining.
"I've been looking forward to this home stretch all season," said
Horford, who had another strong game. "When I looked at it, I was
like, 'Man, I can't wait.'"
The Celtics opened a seven-point lead at the half and took over from
there.
The Celtics took a 17-point lead early in the fourth quarter before
an Indiana 10-0 run that grew to 13-2 got the deficit down to six.
The visitors then went cold the rest of the way.
Isaiah Thomas scored 25 points and dished out five assists, and
Avery Bradley had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Celtics. Al
Horford had 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Jae Crowder
recorded 15 points and six boards, and Kelly Olynyk registered 11
points and eight boards for Boston (46-26).
"We're playing the right way right now," said Bradley, who logged 39
minutes and later said, "Not even tired."
"Every team is playing hard right now and it's our job to continue
to keep playing the right way and trying to prepare for the
playoffs," he said. "We're almost there. We're close."
Horford is averaging 18.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.0
blocks over the last five games.
Paul George led the Pacers (36-35) with 37 points and Jeff Teague
had 25 points and six assists. They were the only two Indiana
players in double figures.
"They started getting away from us and I tried to keep the game as
close as possible," said George, who played the entire second half
and was 11 of 26 from the floor, 5 of 13 from 3-point range in
coming within two points of his season high.
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Pacers forward Paul George (13) works the ball against Boston
Celtics guard Avery Bradley (0) in the first quarter at TD Garden.
Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
"I felt the direction and the way the game was going,
we were at a standstill and I thought it was the opportunity to be
aggressive and will us closer heading into the fourth."
The loss dropped the Pacers, who are sixth in the East, to 7-8 in
their last 15 games -- alternating wins and losses throughout the 15
games.
"You talk about strong starts and strong finishes," said McMillan.
"In the first and third quarters, we got off to slow starts. They
came out very aggressive in the third quarter, hitting three or four
straight threes.
"They got the momentum and kept the momentum."
The Pacers did get a solid contribution from Lavoy Allen off the
bench. He played 21:40 and grabbed 14 rebounds, nine on the
offensive end, while scoring eight points.
The Celtics turned the ball over 14 times in the first half but only
three more times after the break.
"We took care of the ball better and Allen got every rebound on the
court," said Celtics coach Brad Stevens. "So one of these days we'll
put one of these together."
NOTES: Celtics assistant coach Micah Shrewsberry reportedly
interviewed for the vacant UMass coaching job. ... G Isaiah Thomas
extended his club record with a trey in his 46th straight game. He
also registered his 120th straight double-figure scoring game, the
first Celtic to do that since Antoine Walker had 126 starting March
31, 2000 and ending Jan. 11, 2002. Thomas is also closing in on
Walker's team record of 222 3-pointers set in 2001-02, finishing the
game with 213. ... The Celtics are 20-0 when leading after three
quarters at home. ... Boston G Avery Bradley reached the 100
3-pointer plateau for the third straight season after missing it his
first four. ... The Pacers open a three-game homestand against the
Denver Nuggets on Friday night, while the Celtics play the third of
sixth straight at home when the Phoenix Suns visit. [© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All
rights reserved.]
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