Pacers Beat Celtics 103-98
INDIANAPOLIS -- Paul George scored 25 points and the Indiana Pacers pulled away during the final 7:43 on Tuesday night for a 103-98 victory over the Boston Celtics.
Two George Hill free throws with 7:43 to play began a 6-0 Pacers run and the Celtics (39-28) never led again. It was only the fourth time in the past 30 games that Boston was held below 100 points.
Indiana (36-31) won the four-game season series with Boston 3-1.
Monta Ellis added 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Pacers. Jordan Hill came off the bench for 15 points and Ian Mahinmi finished with 13 points and six rebounds.
The Pacers shot 46.4 percent from the field (39 of 84) and held Boston to 38.3 percent (36 of 94), including 8 of 32 from 3-point range.
Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics with 21 points, Jonas Jerebko had 17 and Jared Sullinger added 15 points and 11 rebounds. Marcus Smart scored 12 points.
The Celtics took a 52-51 lead on Thomas' 3-pointer with 7:12 left in the third quarter. Thomas scored 16 points in the quarter, but an Ellis runner in the lane with 0.5 of a second left in the third gave Indiana a 71-70 advantage with 12 minutes remaining.
Led by Mahinmi's nine points, the Pacers grabbed a 43-39 halftime lead, outscoring the Celtics 23-19 during the second quarter.
Boston, which got 11 from Jerebko and nine from Smart, shot only 34.8 percent from the field (16 of 46) in the first half but outrebounded Indiana 26-24.
The Pacers trailed 20-13 in the first quarter but led 43-33 in the second quarter before the Celtics scored the final six points to pull to within four at intermission.
NOTES: The Celtics were without No. 3 scorer Jae Crowder (14.4 points), who has a right ankle sprain. ... F/C Kelly Olynyk (10.1) is playing with a right shoulder sprain. ... Pacers G Ty Lawson is recovering from a sprained left foot and G/F C.J. Miles has an upper respiratory infection. ... Boston came in having won seven of its past 10 games. ... Indiana was 5-5 in its last 10 before facing Boston. ... Pacers F/G Paul George (23.3) was ranked 10th in NBA scoring and fourth in made 3-pointers (179). ... The game against the Celtics begins a sequence in which the Pacers play eight of nine in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. ... The Celtics lead the NBA in opponents' turnovers per game (16.7) and are second in opponents' 3-point field goal percentage (32.4) and second in steals per game (9.6). ... Indiana is fourth in steals per game (9.0) and sixth in opponents' turnovers per game (15.9) ... The Pacers won two of the first three meetings against the Celtics.
