The Boston Celtics continued their march toward the top seed in the Eastern Conference on Wednesday night against the Indiana Pacers.
The Celtics overcame 16 turnovers and a 34-point night from Pacers star Paul George to capture a 109-100 win at TD Garden.
Boston led by as many as 17 points in the second half, thanks in large part to a 39-point third quarter.
Isaiah Thomas led the C’s with 25 points, while Avery Bradley (18 points), Jae Crowder (15 points), Al Horford (15 points) and Kelly Olynyk (11 points) also scored in double figures.
With the win, Boston improves to 46-26 with the win, while Indiana falls to 36-35.
Here’s how it all went down.
STARTING FIVE
Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Amir Johnson, Al Horford
SLOPPY FIRST HALF
Both teams looked sluggish during the first half. The C’s turned the ball over 14 times, while the Pacers only connected on 36 percent of their shots from the floor. Thomas led the Celtics with 10 points at the break, but he struggled with Indiana’s physical defense, shooting only 3-for-8 from the field in the half.
George led all scorers with 14 points and point guard Jeff Teague chipped in with 11.
Now 14 points in the first half from @Yg_Trece.#GoPacers https://t.co/hunnH8Cq7J
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) March 23, 2017
The Pacers led by one with four minutes to play in the second quarter, but the C’s closed the half on a 13-5 run, which was capped off by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Bradley to take a seven-point lead into the locker room.
Avery Bradley at the buzzer! #Celtics Rewind pres. by @NissanUSA pic.twitter.com/nZGhZFuIQ7
— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) March 23, 2017
PG13 Vs. THE CELTICS
Both teams played cleaner basketball to start the second half as George scored nine of the Pacers first 14 points in the third quarter. The C’s, however, took better care of the basketball and hurt the Pacers on the offensive glass to keep them at arm’s length.
AB tips the offense board to himself off glass then puts it back up and in! 💪 https://t.co/K4ViltZMOc
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 23, 2017
George and Teague combined for 24 points in the frame, but Boston scored 39 points in the quarter to take a 14-point lead into the final stanza.
CELTICS PUT IT AWAY
The Celtics maintained a double-digit lead for the first half of the final quarter, but a 10-0 run by the Pacers cut the lead to seven with six minutes to play.
The lead remained at six with four minutes to go, but the Celtics made the plays down the stretch to seal the victory.
Thomas scored on a fast-break layup after an Indiana turnover, and two possessions later Horford drilled a turn-around jump shot to swell the lead to 10. Horford then found Thomas with a beautiful outlet pass to put the finishing touches on the Celtics’ 12th win in their last 13 games at TD Garden.
Al Horford forces the turnover then tosses a full-court outlet pass to IT for 2! https://t.co/8EeGoaSoq0
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 23, 2017
PLAY OF THE GAME
A little luck never hurts.
Marcus Smart! 💪 https://t.co/PpRu0kPJro
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 23, 2017
UP NEXT
The Celtics will take the court again Friday night when they welcome the Phoenix Suns to TD Garden on Friday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
