Hungry Hibbert dominates Celtics

Second-year center Roy Hibbert had another strong game for the Pacers with 28 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots. First-round draft pick Tyler Hansbrough added 22 points and five rebounds, Trey Johnson 13 points and second-round pick A.J. Price had eight points and five assists.

The Pacers trailed by nine points early in the fourth quarter, but got back in the lead, 76-75, on a Hansbrough free throw with 4:39 to play. That set up a back-and-forth run to the finish. Hibbert gave the Pacers an 89-88 lead with 47.6 seconds left on two free throws. Then with 7.1, Boston’s Nick Fazekas missed two free throws that would have given the Celtics the lead. Hansbrough was fouled on the rebound, hit both and Fazekas missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie.

The Pacers pulled out the victory with 43.5 percent shooting from the field while Boston was at 57.4 percent. The Pacers kept it close thanks to free throws, hitting 28 of 32 (Hansbrough and Hibbert shot 19 between them) to Boston’s 11 of 18.

“We were behind pretty much the whole game so that was a gutsy effort down the stretch,” said Pacers Coach Jim O’Brien. “Roy was terrific, just very solid. It’s always nice to be 4-0 after four games and the object is to leave here undefeated.”

The Pacers will get that chance Friday when they close summer league play against Orlando at 3 p.m.