Game Rewind: Pacers 112, Celtics 114

In what was likely a preview of the playoffs, the Pacers fell to the Celtics 114-112 in Boston.

Friday night's game was an exciting one, and it came down to the final moments. Trailing 112-110, an incredible hustle play tied the game for Indiana.

Bojan Bogdanovic dove for a loose ball near half court, got it to Darren Collison and with his back to the basket, Thad Young caught Collison's alley-oop pass and somehow laid it in to tie the game at 112 with 1:19 to play.

After a miss from each team and then a Boston turnover, Collison had a chance to give Indiana the lead but missed a mid-range jumper. With 10.2 seconds left, the Celtics put the ball in the hands of Kyrie Irving, and he scored the game-winning layup with .5 on the clock.

“Kyrie (Irving) just made a good move, great hesitation," Collison said. "He made a good move.”

On Indiana's last effort, the inbounds pass was tipped, and the Pacers weren't able to get a potentially game-winning shot off. Tonight's result gave the two teams the same overall record, but allowed the Celtics to move into the No. 4 seed in the East because they now lead the season series with Indiana, 2-1.

Tonight's game was a back-and-forth battle throughout. The Celtics struck first, jumping out to a 9-1 lead, which eventually turned into a 20-9 advantage with 6:08 left in the opening quarter. Boston would lead by as much as 12 in the first, but at the end of the quarter Indiana trailed by 10, 35-25.

In the second, T.J. Leaf provided a spark for the visitors. Behind Leaf's 10 points, Indiana battled back and retook the lead, 41-40, at the 7:59 mark. The lead wouldn't last long though, as Boston ran off eight straight to take a seven-point lead with 6:59 to go in the first half.

The Pacers used a late spurt, scoring the quarter's last five points, to get within three, 63-60, before heading into the locker room.

Boston went on a run to start the third, pushing its lead back up to 11, 75-64, with 8:57 to go in the quarter. But the Pacers responded, tying things up at 80. They eventually retook the lead with 3:29 remaining, and after a back-and-forth final three minutes, held on to a two-point advantage, 91-89, heading into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth, Indiana led 99-98 with 7:48 to play. A 7-0 Celtics run gave them a 105-99 lead. The Pacers fired back with six straight to tie the game at 105 with 4:00 left, setting up the nail-biting finish.

"We gave ourselves a chance, we came in played and played our hearts out," Pacers head coach Nate McMillan said. "But, we got to really put this behind us and get ourselves ready for Orlando tomorrow night.”

Bogdanovic finished with a team high 27 points. Thad Young added 18, and Myles Turner had 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Kyrie Irving led the way for Boston with 30 points. Al Horford scored 19, and Jaylen Brown added 16 off the bench.

T.J. Leaf scored 12 points off the bench, the most he's scored since he scored 18 on February 28.

Myles Turner now has 16 double-doubles this year, a new career high.

The Celtics lead the season series 2-1. The two teams now have the same overall record, but Boston jumps into the fourth seed courtesy of owning the season series lead. They will finish out their season series on April 5 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

“Yeah, I mean just a couple baskets away. I missed a key layup in the game, and I take full responsibility, but you know it is tough loss to take at this point in the season." - Pacers forward Thad Young

“Yeah, I’m pleased with our guys’ effort. We didn’t get off to a good start, but we kept fighting." - Pacers head coach Nate McMillan

“It’s important. It was a really good win for us, especially here at home. It feels good.” - Celtics center Al Horford

The Pacers will return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to host Nikola Vucevic and the Orlando Magic tomorrow at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »