Indiana Pacers use a balanced attack to down Boston Celtics 87-74 - NBA Update
Friday night turned out to be an unpleasant one for Boston Celtics and the capacity home crowd that had gathered at the TD Garden as the Indiana Pacers, for the first time in five years, downed the C’s 87-74 and improved their record to 5-2.
What makes this loss more frustrating for Celts was that all their star players were back healthy tonight, making this the team’s first loss this season with starting lineup completely intact.
It was one of the worst performances from Eastern conference giants in the season where they failed to match the opponents in each and every department, be it shooting from the floor (39.4% - 40.5%), including three point range (35.7% - 57.1%) and rebounds (47-36).
On the other hand, Pacers were thoroughly professional and except the first frame, dominated the game throughout.
Six players managed to end with score in double figures. Danny Granger scored 15, Darren Collison had 14 points, George Hill drained 13 while Paul George and Tyler Hansbrough both accumulated 12 apiece. Roy Hibbert completed a double-double by finishing with 11 points and 12 boards.
David West, who was playing his first game against the C’s after he opted for Pacers during the free agency period instead of them, was jeered throughout the game by the crowds and managed to score only 2 points, but grabbed 10 rebounds.
Ray Allen paced the C’s with a game high 23 points including 7 for 11 from the floor while veteran Kevin Garnett had 12 points and 6 boards. Rajon Rondo pounded 11, dished out 9 assists and forced 5 rebounds whereas Paul Pierce bundled 10 points.
Boston started the game dominantly and managed to stay ahead for first 11 minutes. A flurry of free throws in the ending minute by Pacers finished the frame with both teams levelled at 14 all.
A 9-4 run in the starting minutes of the second frame took Pacers ahead by 23-18. Boston made a comeback midway through the frame making it 25 all again, however another 8-0 run in the last two minutes of the frame ensured Pacers maintained their dominance in the first half.
The third frame was a high scoring affair and both team scored 30 points, ensuring an 8 point lead 63-55 for the Pacers. George hill drilled back to back three’s in the starting minutes of the fourth frame to boost the lead to double digits. C’s however did not give up the fight and tried hard to bring the lead down, but on the night, the Pacers were just a little too hard to stop and the Celts ended up losing by 13 points in the end.
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