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Game Rewind: Pacers 99, Celtics 97

Game Recap

Despite trailing by 10 points at the half, the Pacers used an overpowering second half against the Celtics, notching one of their biggest road victories of the season with a 99-97 win over Boston that came down to the final seconds.

The Pacers entered Sunday's matchup with a clean bill of health, but the Celtics began the night without two of their key players. Jaylen Brown (concussion protocol) and Al Horford (illness) were both announced out prior to the tip. The injury problems only got worse for Boston throughout the game as Kyrie Irving didn't play in the second half due to a knee injury.

Without Irving, the Pacers (39-28) quickly charged back into the game, jumping in front in the third quarter and clinging to a lead throughout the fourth.

Just as the clock passed the six minute mark in the game, the Celtics (46-21) started claw away at Indiana's advantage, even without the services of Horford, Irving, and Brown.

Leading by just three points, Myles Turner connected on his seventh field goal of the night, a jumper from the elbow, putting Indiana up 88-83 with 2:47 remaining.

Moments later, Bojan Bogdanovic drew a foul and hit on both of his free throws, pushing the advantage to seven.

While Marcus Smart brought the crowd to life on the next possession with a hand-in-his-face 3-pointer, Victor Oladipo fired right back with a 3-pointer of his own, creating a cushion for the Pacers. Oladipo led all scorers on Sunday night, pouring in 27 points on 10-of-20 shooting.

As Smart sliced into the deficit with yet another three, Oladipo again provided the answer, blitzing down the lane for a layup that went high off the glass to put the Pacers in front 95-90 with 1:14 to play.

Needing a stop to seal the game, the Pacers were unable to contain Terry Rozier, who flew off a screen and hit a 3-pointer from dead center. After Oladipo missed a jumper on the other end, rookie Jayson Tatum was fouled and sent to the free throw line where he hit both, tying the game at 95.

Coming out of a timeout, it was Myles Turner's chance to be the hero, backing down his defender and getting his 19th point of the night to put Indiana up by two points with 21 seconds on the clock. Turner also added a game-best 10 rebounds during his double-double performance.

"I think he's shown growth," said Pacers head coach Nate McMillan of Turner. "He continues to show growth. His big bucket late in the game, on the post, he was really patient, he took his time, and was able to score that go-ahead basket. It just shows that he's showing growth and he continues to show growth offensively with the ball, and rebounding the ball, and that's what we want to see."

In what was supposed to be Boston's final possession, Rozier was able to get a shot off, but it rimmed off as Cory Joseph successfully secured the rebound. Since the Celtics had a foul to give, the Pacers had to inbound it one last time, and successfully got the ball into Oladipo who was fouled and sent to the free throw line where he hit both free throws.

Unfortunately for Indiana, while trying to inbound the ball, Victor Oladipo was called for an offensive foul after making contact with Marcus Morris' face, giving the Celtics one last look at a chance to win or tie the game. But Rozier's fadeaway at the buzzer sailed wide again, securing the #PacersWin as Indiana opened up its punishing stretch of final games with an impressive victory.

For Boston, it was Marcus Smart who had the hottest hand, sending in six 3-pointers as he lifted his team back into the game. But down the stretch, the combination of Oladipo and Turner proved to be enough to get Indiana across the finish line, as the duo combined to go 18-of-33 from the field, five of which were 3-pointers.

In the opening quarter of the game, Boston hounded the Pacers into shooting just 9-of-25 (36 percent). But even with a tough start from the field, Indiana still trailed by just one point after one quarter as Boston led 25-24.

With the first half winding down, the Celtics began to put their mark on the game, going on an 11-0 run while the Pacers missed six consecutive shots from the field. The scoring drought from the Pacers gave the hosts a 43-34 lead with 3:35 remaining in the quarter.

Moments later, Irving buried a fadeaway jumper to extend Boston's run to 16-2, opening up a 12-point Celtics lead.

With Indiana making just 37.8 percent of its shots in the first half, the Pacers trailed 50-40 after two quarters of play.

As the teams took the floor in the second half, Irving was conspicuously absent from the floor, leaving the Celtics without three of their top players.

Indiana took quick advantage of the absence, outscoring the Celtics 17-7 to start the third and tying the game at 57 on a pair of Oladipo free throws.

By the time the third quarter came to an end, the Pacers had outscored the Celtics 34-20, taking a four-point lead into the fourth quarter.

The Pacers got the fourth started in style, scoring two straight buckets to go up by nine points. After Celtics guard Shane Larkin made a pair of free throws, Domantas Sabonis answered on the other end with a posterizing dunk, bumping chests with teammate Trevor Booker after.

Even without its stars, the Celtics scratched back into the game, tying the game in the final minutes.

But for Indiana, Oladipo and Turner came up huge in crunch time, helping keep the Pacers in front as they secured the impressive road victory.

"It was big, to win the first game of a road trip and to come here to Boston and to get this win," McMillan explained. "We knew it was going to be a grind and our guys fought for 48 minutes. It took all 48 minutes to get this win."

Inside the Numbers

The Pacers outscored the Celtics 46-26 in the paint on Sunday night.

Indiana was locked in from deep, making 12-of-22 3-point shots on the evening. Bojan Bogdanovic did the majority of the damage, hitting four shots from long range.

Glenn Robinson III was impressive off the bench, scoring seven points on 3-of-4 shooting.

Indiana outscored Boston 34-20 in the third quarter.

You Can Quote Me On That

"It feels good, man. Definitely a hard-fought win for us. Tough environment. Even though they had some guys out they still played well together. They're still well coached, so that's a great win for us. Just got to continue to keep getting better." -Victor Oladipo

"It's big. Just knowing I can be trusted down there in the post. I've been telling people, I tell this team, I've always had a post-game. It's just something I never, I guess, utilized this season and season's past. But, I'm going to grow more and more confident down there. I know it's just the next step in my development." -Myles Turner

Stat of the Night

For the ninth time in his career, Myles Turner had 10 or more rebounds, 15 or more points, and three or more blocks, all while shooting 50 percent or better from the field. The Pacers are 7-2 all-time when Turner reaches those marks.

Noteworthy

  • The Pacers have split the season series 2-2 with the Boston Celtics. The road team won all four games.
  • Kyrie Irving left the game at halftime with knee soreness and did not return.
  • Coming off the bench, Darren Collison passed out a game-high 10 assists.

Up Next

The Pacers face another playoff team on the road, traveling to Philadelphia to take on Joel Embiid and the 76ers on Tuesday night at 7:00 PM ET.

Tickets

The Pacers return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Thursday, March 15 to host DeMar DeRozan and the East-leading Toronto Raptors at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »