Game Rewind: Pacers 99, Celtics 105

Playing for the first time this season without three-time All-Star Paul George, the Indiana Pacers hung tough with the Boston Celtics on Saturday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. But the Pacers (4-6) couldn't quite muster enough offense down the stretch as they suffered their first home loss of the year, a 105-99 defeat.

George sprained his right ankle in an overtime loss in Philadelphia on Friday night, but was able to play through the pain. His ankle swelled up on Saturday, however, and after testing it and consulting with the Pacers training staff, he was ruled out roughly an hour before tipoff.

"It's real frustrating," George said after the loss. "I especially wanted to be out there with my guys. This was a very winnable game against a good team...it's tough to lose a home game and not be a part of it."

The Celtics (5-4) maintained a narrow lead through most of the fourth quarter, but the Pacers remained within striking distance. On three occasions in the final minutes, Indiana cut Boston's lead to two, but all three times the visitors answered with a score of their own to double their cushion.

Avery Bradley's runner with 2:10 to play gave the Celtics a 97-91 lead, but the Pacers attempted to mount one last charge.

Jeff Teague knocked down two free throws on one possession and, after a steal, Monta Ellis converted one of two from the stripe to make it a one-possession game with 1:31 remaining.

Teague, however, fouled Isaiah Thomas on the ensuing possession, and the 2016 All-Star hit both free throws to push the margin back to five. Pacers center Myles Turner lost the ball on the sideline on the other end, leading to a fastbreak finish for Thomas to all but seal the victory for Boston.

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Teague was just 4-for-15 from the field, but went 11-for-12 from the free throw line on his way to a team-high 20 points and four assists. Turner added 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go along with eight rebounds, a career-high four steals, and three blocks.

Monta Ellis (15 points and four assists), Thaddeus Young (10 points and eight rebounds), and Al Jefferson (10 points off the bench) also scored in double figures for the Pacers, but it wasn't quite enough to lift Indiana to victory.

"We were fighting the shot clock because we were bringing it up slowly," head coach Nate McMillan said. "I want more movement. We’re pounding the ball a lot, not getting it reversed to the weak side. We want to make teams defend, get to our second, third, fourth option. You don't win games when you don’t make plays down the stretch."

"I think we were much better defensively tonight than we've been in previous games," Young added. "We did a very good job of executing the defensive schemes that we needed, we just couldn't make shots."

Indiana got off to an excellent start offensively against the Celtics. The Blue & Gold converted 11 of their first 17 shots and surged in front with a 10-0 run midway through the first quarter.

With George watching from the sidelines in street clothes, Teague took charge of the Pacers offense in the early going. The former Pike High School star scored nine early points on 3-of-4 shooting and dished out two assists in the opening frame as Indiana led 31-24 at the end of the quarter.

The second quarter was filled with a series of runs. Boston used an 8-0 spurt in the second quarter to cut the margin to three, but the Pacers responded by reeling off seven unanswered points. The Celtics answered by burying 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions, the latter two by center Kelly Olynyk, to make it a one-point game.

Amir Johnson knocked down a pair of free throws with 57.4 seconds left in the half to give Boston its first lead since early in the first quarter and then tipped in a lob from Marcus Smart in the closing seconds as the Celtics finished the half on a 13-0 run.

The two teams took turns trading punches in a back-and-forth third quarter that featured six ties and six lead changes. But the period ended the same way it started, with Boston leading by three.

The Celtics never lost their lead over the final 12 minutes, holding on for their second victory in as many nights.

Thomas led all scorers with 23 points and five assists. Olynyk added 16 points and six rebounds, while Johnson chipped in 14 points and nine boards. Three other Celtics finished in double figures in the victory, despite the Pacers — who have struggled defensively for much of the season — holding Boston to 43.8 percent shooting.

"They execute as well as anybody in our league," Pacers forward C.J. Miles said. "I don't think it gets talked about that much, but they run their offense with good pace. They screen well, guys roll, guys make shots...they play the game really well together, but we did some good things defensively today."

The Pacers will return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Monday, Nov. 14, when they welcome former head coach Frank Vogel and the Orlando Magic to Indianapolis in the second game of a four-game homestand. Saturday's game against Boston tipped off a stretch in which Indiana will play eight of its next nine games at The Fieldhouse.

After going 5-for-19 from 3-point range in Friday's loss in Philadelphia, the Pacers struggled again from long range against the Celtics. Indiana finished the night 6-for-27 from beyond the arc, a season-low 22.2 percent.

With George out, third-year forward Glenn Robinson III returned to the rotation and put together a productive night. GRIII scored eight points on 4-of-11 shooting while also tallying six rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and no turnovers in 25:49.

C.J. Miles matched his career high with three blocks. He last accomplished the feat nearly three years to the day earlier, logging three rejections in Chicago on Nov. 11, 2013 while playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Backup point guard Aaron Brooks scored nine points off the bench in 15 minutes, one shy of his season high. Brooks was the rare Pacers player who found a rhythm from 3-point range, knocking down 2-of-5 attempts from beyond the arc.

Former Louisville star Terry Rozier set a new career high with 11 points for the Celtics in 22 minutes off the bench.

"We've just got to continue to get the ball going from side to side. I think we didn't do that enough tonight. We got stuck in a lot more pick and rolls than we wanted. We didn't really get a lot of movement so it was easy to guard." -Miles on the Pacers' offense

"You can't replace a guy like that, you just try to collectively step up. Guys get a chance to play. (Glenn Robinson III) came in and gave some real energy tonight. We just tried to collectively play together as a group and compensate." -Miles

"We just have to find a way to get into a rhythm with all the guys on the floor at the same time. Just move the basketball and put ourselves into positions to be able to score the basketball." -Young

"That's what the game is all about, the fourth quarter. Isaiah did a lot for our team tonight, even though he was not shooting well. He created shots for other players and helped out a lot of ways just by penetrating and collapsing the defense. But a lot of guys contributed tonight." -Celtics guard Avery Bradley

Thomas finished the night just 4-for-13 from the field, but did plenty of damage to the Pacers from the free throw line. The 5-9 guard went 14-for-15 from the charity stripe, the most foul shots attempted by a Pacers opponent in a regular season game since Norman Powell went 14-for-19 for the Raptors on April 8, 2016.

Frank Vogel returns to Bankers Life Fieldhouse for the first time as head coach of the Orlando Magic on Monday, Nov. 14 at 7:00 PM ET. Good seats still remain. Find Tickets »