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Celtics-Pacers: 56k | 300k 
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"Al Harrington and Austin are two really terrific NBA players," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "We're fortunate to have a guy like Al come off the bench because he makes the team better."
"With Jermaine not on the court, there were still excellent players who believed that in a tight game they're going to win," Celtics coach John Carroll said.
Voted to his third All-Star Game two days ago, O'Neal suffered a strained neck midway through the second quarter and did not return. He scored just four points.
Harrington was the first to pick up the slack as the Sixth Man Award candidate scored at least eight points in each of the first three quarters. But he was accidentally kicked in the midsection late in the third period and did not score again.
"I felt good from the beginning tonight," said Harrington, who has scored at least 20 points in the last three games. "I made my first couple of shots and when you do that, your confidence just grows."
Looking for their first win under Carroll, the Celtics held a 77-74 lead early in the fourth quarter. But Croshere made consecutive three-pointers to cap an 11-0 burst that gave the Pacers the lead for good.
Croshere made another three-pointer at the 2:51 mark to make it 94-89. Ron Artest added a steal and layup 23 seconds later, and Indiana held on down the stretch.
"My role is hard, but I must be ready each and every game," said Croshere, whose minutes have been sporadic. "Rick pulled me aside at halftime and told to be ready because I was going to get additional minutes in the second half."
"Austin Croshere, he should play more than he does, and if not for Al Harrington, he would," Carlisle said. "But he stays ready. He's a pro's pro. Without him, I don't think we win tonight. His three threes in the second half were monstrous."
The Pacers got 55 points from their reserves, including 11 from Anthony Johnson. To illustrate Indiana's depth, Kenny Anderson -- who began the season as the starting point guard but had missed a month with a calf injury -- was activated from the injured list but did not play.
Paul Pierce scored 22 of his 24 points in the second half and Ricky Davis added 21 off the bench for Boston, which fell to 0-3 under Carroll and has lost eight of 10 overall.
"I think we can definitely take something from these last three games," Davis said. "I definitely see a light at the end of the tunnel."
Trailing, 96-89, the Celtics got baskets from Pierce, Walter McCarty and Mark Blount to cut the deficit to one point. But Johnson made a three-pointer for a 99-95 lead with 46 seconds to play.
Pierce made a three-pointer and Boston forced a shot-clock violation, getting back the ball with 2.7 seconds left. Artest overplayed Pierce, who could not handle McCarty's inbounds pass.
"Ron was all over him and (McCarty) didn't know what hand to pass to," Harrington said.
"The pass was off just a little bit," Pierce said. "I couldn't quite get my hands up quick enough."
The Celtics surrendered 43 points in the first quarter and went down by double digits but slowly worked their way back into the game. Despite just two points from Pierce, they trailed just 59-53 at halftime.