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Celtics snap four-game skid with 103-94 win over Pacers

CSNE

A.SHERROD BLAKLEY

BOSTON – After giving away too many games to count this season because of late-game mishaps at both ends of the floor, the Boston Celtics finally stole a victory – literally.

A series of steals and subsequent uncontested lay-ups in the final 1:45 of play helped Boston snap a four-game losing skid with a 103-94 win over Indiana.

The Celtics (20-19) avoided falling below-.500 for the first time since November 11.

But even more significant, they finally put a team away down the stretch as their four-game losing streak is a thing of the past now.

And they did so with their defense which has been a big part of the Celtics having lost four straight and six of their last seven games coming into Wednesday’s matchup.

After the Pacers went ahead 94-91, Boston forced three consecutive turnovers via steals and converted each into an uncontested dunk or lay-up.

The Pacers were never the same afterwards.

Boston led most of the game, but saw its lead wiped out when Indiana went ahead 84-82 on a cut to the basket by George Hill with 6:53 to play, only for an Avery Bradley jumper to tie the game back up moments later.

The two went back and forth, but there was no mistaking the game’s momentum had shifted in Indiana’s favor.

The Pacers took a 90-86 lead with an acrobatic, up-and-under reverse lay-up by C.J. Miles with 5:08 to play.

Boston called a time-out, hoping a similar surge would ensue akin to when they fell behind 8-zip to start the game.

It didn’t happen right away, but the much-needed lift Boston needed finally arrived in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.

The Pacers’ made this game a lot closer than the final score would indicate.

Their comeback began in the third quarter and not surprisingly it was Paul George leading the way.

After a relatively quiet first half, George began to assert himself more offensively in the third quarter.

Having scored just four points in the first half (he missed six of his seven field goal attempts), George lit up the Celtics for 17 of his team-high 23 points in the third quarter.

But as well as George was playing offensively, the Celtics didn’t allow any of his teammates to get going.

And that would prove to be a huge factor in the game because despite George’s strong play, Boston never relinquished its lead.

For the Celtics, it was an example of what good team defense looked like when it was being executed at a high level.

In the third quarter, George was 5-for-7 from the field while the rest of the Pacers were a combined 4-for-14 from the field.

Despite their struggles, George’s supporting cast came up big in the final seconds of the third as Indiana closed out the quarter with an 11-0 run which cut Boston’s lead to 78-76 after three quarters.

The third quarter looked in many ways like so many other games we have seen of late from the Celtics that they allowed to slip away in the second half. Boston’s penchant for third quarter fouls continues as the Pacers spent most of the third in the bonus.

But there would be no late-game letdown tonight as the Celtics finished off the Pacers with a 12-0 run.
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Thomas Scores 28, Celtics Beat Pacers 103-94

THE SPORTS HUB -98.5 FM

BOSTON — The Boston Celtics literally stole a game Wednesday night.

Forwards Jae Crowder and Amir Johnson, guard Marcus Smart and Crowder again all scored off steals in a 1:40 span late in the fourth quarter, and the Celtics ended on a 12-0 run and snapped a four-game losing streak with a 103-94 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

The Celtics (20-19) blew an 11-point, third-quarter lead and then rallied from four points down late, finishing with a flourish. They trailed by three when the parade of swipes began. Boston had three steals in the game before the four in the final 2:40.

The Pacers, who had won three of their previous four, didn’t score for the final 2:15.

Guard Isaiah Thomas iced the game with a driving lay-in and four free throws, finishing with 28 points. He is averaging 32.3 points in the past three games.

Crowder scored 19 of his 25 points in the first half. Johnson had 14 points, a season-high 18 rebounds and six assists, and guard Avery Bradley contributed 11 points and six assists in the win.

After forward Paul George scored 17 of his 23 points in the third quarter, center Jordan Hill and guard George Hill combined to score Indiana’s first 10 points of the fourth quarter. George Hill finished with 13 points, and Jordan Hill had 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Pacers (22-17) were just 5-for-30 from 3-point range, with guard C.J. Miles missing all nine of his long-range shots.

It took Indiana 2:08 to grab an 8-0 lead, and it was 12-4 after 3:19. However, the Celtics then ripped off 13 points in a 3:27 span, and the run grew to 22-2 over six minutes.

The Pacers came right back with another 8-0 burst and trailed by four after the first quarter. However, led by reserve forwards Kelly Olynyk and Jonas Jerebko, the Celtics got the lead back up to 12.

Five consecutive points by swingman Glenn Robinson III helped the visitors crawl back to within one, but then Crowder took over, scoring 10 points in just under two minutes, and Boston led by eight at the break.

NOTES: Celtics coach Brad Stevens reinserted F Jared Sullinger into the starting lineup in place of F Kelly Olynyk, who sat out the second half of Tuesday night’s loss in New York because of a coach’s decision. “We’re 1-4 and just wanted to go and see if maybe we could find a different rhythm there,” Stevens said. Sullinger scored four points Wednesday. … Indiana G Rodney Stuckey, who sustained a right foot injury in Tuesday night’s win over the Phoenix Suns, didn’t make the trip. … Pacers coach Frank Vogel on Stevens missing a game to visit former Butler player Andrew Smith, who died Tuesday: “He’s just doing the right thing. I would hope that all of us with former players in a situation like that would do the same. Brad’s as high character a guy as you’re ever going to meet. So it’s not surprising.” The Celtics observed a pregame moment of silence for Smith.

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This was a big win.  It was a big win because:

A)  It ended a 4 game losing streak against a good team
B)  It was a home win after a couple of cringe-worthy losses to the inferior Lakers, Pistons and Nets.
C)  We rallied and pulled it out in the final minutes when late game execution has been a big problem for us.

Both teams wore their ugly uniforms last night.  Indy wore their uniform honoring the movie "Hoosiers" and Indiana basketball while we wore our uniforms that honored, uh, nobody.  Just freaking ugly.  What's more it seemed to me that we lost a lot when we wear them, so I'm glad to be wrong.

A game of big runs that saw the lead seesaw +/- 12 points.  Big swings.

We started out icy with Bradley throwing up brick after brick and the Celtics turning it over 6x in the 1st quarter.  We were down 8-0 in no time flat.  Then we started to get into the game and went on our first run.  Who showed up?  Who played like they wanted to stay on the team bus?

1.  Thomas had 11 in the first quarter.  He was 3-4 from 3 in the 1st quarter.  He can be a ME-baller, absolutely!, but damn if the little guy doesn't have ganas by the bucketful.  The chip on his shoulder is so big it must be throwing his spinal column out of joint.  Monta Ellis tried posting the little man up all night and ended up 6-16 on the night for his troubles.  By recent standards he didn't shoot much last night.  Only 18 fgas, which is less than the 19.4fgas he averaged over the previous 5 games, but more than the 16.7fgas he's averaging season-long.  The difference is that he shot 50% last night.  The difference between an efficient Isaiah Thomas and an inefficient one is massive.  Last night we got the good one.  28 points.  His TOs, which are almost always "live", will probably always drive me crazy but you gotta take the good with the bad and until Danny gets at least 2 more knockdown shooters Isaiah Thomas is going nowhere.

2.  The other player who wants to stay on the team bus is Jae Crowder.  Who would have thought that HE would be the best player to come out of the whole Rondo deal?  He did a great job defending Paul George and throwing George off his stride for the first half.  George was 1-6 in the 1st quarter and only 0-1 in the 2nd quarter.  He exploded in the 3rd for 17, you knew he wasn't going to get shut down forever, but he was held to only 23 points on 7-20.  Yeah, ONLY 23 points, he's that dangerous.  Just as the key to beating us is to force IT to shoot 35%, that was the key to beating Indy last night.  On the other hand, a career high  25 points for Jae on very efficient 11-15.  He was hitting them all and he was taking them to the rim too.  He's not very fast but he's built like a M1 Abrams tank so when he goes to the rack you don't want to get in his way.  I've had problems with his finishing, in part because he isn't a quick leaper so the defense can get up there to contest his layups, but last night he finished on every single fga in the paint he took.  It's amazing how much better you look when you complete your shots at the rim.

3.  Which is something you cannot say about Marcus Smart.  Another brutal 2-9 night.  Marcus Smart is an awful shooter.  Marcus Smart is an awful shooter.  Marcus Smart is an awful shooter.  I said that 3x because that's how many bunnies he blew in a row last night.  He had a SportCenter circus shot that went in on a foul but that doesn't make up for the 3 he blew.  1-4 in the paint?  Right at the rim?  Even Bradley is better than that.  Smart plays hard, not always smart, but he is now the player I least want to see shoot the ball, especially from 3.  His 21% 3pt fg% is just slightly better than Turner's 16%, but that's like saying Josef Stalin was slightly better than Adolf Hitler.  The difference between the two, offensively, is that Turner is actually a much better penetrator, a much better finisher at the rim and a much better floor general.  Defensively is where Smart shines but he is NOT a two-way player.  He provides energy, inspiration and ferocity.  He made a big steal shooting the gap with 1 1/2 minutes left to give us a 95-94 lead after being down 8 at the 5 1/2 minute mark.  Just please don't let him shoot anymore, Brad.

4.  Not that you would have seen a better penetrator and inside scorer if you watched Turner last night.  Another stinker from him.  0-5 for zero points.  He's shooting 31% in his last 5 games.  What's truly scary is that his 3pt fg% actually went up from the 15.5% season-to-date to a lofty 16.7% in the last 5 games, like that's saying something.  I understand why Turner is getting heavy minutes.  Other than Thomas he's the only other real ball handling floor general we have.  That's why Danny needs to package him.  Give Rozier a chance to handle the ball and replace Turner with someone who might not do everything well like Turner but at least does one thing exceptionally well, better than almost anybody else.

5.  Another player who wants to stay on the bus is Amir Johnson.  A real lunch pail performance.  14 points on 6-11 and 18 boards, 8 of them offensive.  He worked, man, he worked.  He was also tied with Bradley for team high assist man with 6.  Will we ever be able to say that again?  "Amir Johnson and Avery Bradley Celtic game high assist leaders"?  A great game from Amir, you just have to watch for it because there is no flash about the man's game at all.  He will not be on SportCenter and that's too bad.  You need to watch the Celtics to see a throwback player like him.

6.  Brad felt we needed a change so he started Sully instead of Kelly.  The result was we got another crappy game out of Sullinger (4 points on 2-5  and 3 rebounds in 20 minutes), after a great previous game, and a pretty decent but not great game from Kelly (11 points on 4-6, 2-3 from 3 and 4 boards, 2 offensive).  What does this say to me?  It says to me that neither player has the intensity, stability and talent to compete as a starter against starters night-in-and-night-out.  They both have had good games as starters and bench players but neither of them have yet to show they deserve to own that slot, either slot, starter or rotation bench player.  The difference between the two is quite stark.  Sully has an arrogance about him that makes him take shots he shouldn't take but also makes him aggressive and more successful (depending upon which game you choose to talk about).  Kelly on the other hand appears awkward and uncomfortable with leadership with the ball which results in traveling calls as he looks too much for passes and not enough to take his man strong.  I've said this many times and I see no reason to change it yet.  Somebody needs to kill Kelly's puppy.  Somebody, something, has to piss off that easy-going Canadian and make him more like Sully.  When someone tries to muscle him out of the way he needs to muscle back.  At least try, for Pete's sake.  I think the difference we'd see in Kelly's play, if he played angrier, would be remarkable.  On the other hand, Sully needs another intervention, like he got from his family about his weight, and has to be told that you need to not be quite so full of himself.  Together they actually complement each other well, Sully the bear underneath and Kelly the passer and outside shooter, they just need to embrace and attack their strengths and roles and not try to play outside themselves.  Crazy as Kelly might make us sometimes with his shooting, he is still shooting a respectable 45% from the field this year and 40% from 3.  In fact, he's shooting 47% from 3 in his last 5 games.  Yeah, those include the 4 we lost, he still shot well from outside.  

7.  Bradley with a poor 6-17 game.  His defense was pretty good but his offense stunk.  Hubie Brown talked him up, saying he "played a solid game" but we've all seen much better from Avery.

8.  An excellent game from Jordan Hill, as usual.  I really liked him in LA too.  He's a flat-footed shooter from mid-range.  You cannot just fall off him because he isn't looking to drive, he will nail the shot.  10 points on 4-8 and 8 boards in just 15 minutes for Hill.  He's making $4M this year with Indy and it's his final contract year.  He's only 28 years old.  I would be just fine seeing him in green next year as a back up center.  He can do everything Zeller can do.  In fact, he can do more than Zeller including dunk the ball and block shots.  Besides, Indy has too many Georges and Hills, they needs to ditch a few.  Hill was caught driving 107mph in Georgia 6 months ago.  No accident, nobody hurt, just speeding.  Maybe that, and the addition this year of Miles Turner, will sour Larry on him.

9.  Stat Roundup:  52 points in the paint for us is good.  23 fast break points for us is very good.  We had 19 TOs but they had 17 so it's hard to see much separation there.  90 fgas is very good as is our 44% shooting.  Where they hung in there is that they got 36 points off our TOs.  TOs are bad enough, but live TOs will kill you and damn near killed us last night.

10.  We only had 7 steals on the night but the last four were, to say the least, timely.  2 by Jae, 1 by Smart and one stumbling full court dunk all in the last 2 1/2 minutes, the last 3 in the span of :47 and 4 Indy possessions.  Real back-breakers.  The crowd went wild.

11.  Bonus videos

















Our defense, in general, was pretty good this game.  Paul George went off, but he does that.  For the most part though they were getting repeat 24-second violations and were taking last second buzzerbeaters.  They were not getting into their halfrcourt sets quickly and that was because of our pressure.  Those last 4 steals were just symptomatic of a game-long effort by Gang Green.

Unfortunately, with the loss of Melo and playing the 2nd night of a back-to-back the Nets were able to beat the Knicks last night.


bob


.

Hi,
Yes, it's a good win.
Another bonus - the game was on ESPN with Hubie Brown as a color man.

AK