Lance Stephenson had a triple double, finishing with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and Paul George scored 24 points on nine-of-13 shooting in just 28 minutes as the Indiana Pacers cruised to a 106-79 victory over the Boston Celtics.
Danny Granger, who made his return to the court in the Pacers’114-81 victory over the Houston Rockets Friday night, scored 12 points on four-of-eight shooting and pulled down five rebounds in 25 minutes.
Avery Bradley led the Celtics with 13 points (on 14 shots) and six rebounds while Jeff Green and Courtney Lee scored 11 points apiece.
The Celtics’ offense was a disaster throughout the game. The Celtics only had three players score in double figures. They shot just 32-of-84 from the field (38.1%), six-of-14 from beyond the arc (42.9%) and nine-of-13 from the free throw line (69.2%). They turned the ball over 16 times, leading to 19 Pacers’ points. The Pacers, on the other hand, shot 41-of-83 from the field (49.4%), nine-of-19 from three (47.4%) and 15-of-22 from the charity stripe (68.2%).
The Celtics had an early 15-10 lead, but the Pacers closed the first quarter on a 10-2 run and never looked back.
The win improves the Pacers to 22-5 while the Celtics fall to 12-17.