Indiana and Boston faced off in what was a must-win game for both teams Wednesday evening. With both squads vying for playoff position, it was important that they both come out strong and ready to compete. Indiana was still without ailling star Paul George, while Boston was supposed to be without second-year big man Kelly Olynyk, who took an elbow to the face during warmups earlier in the day.
Olynyk did play, however, even though his left eye was not only swollen, but it was also black and blue. In every game this season, Boston and Indiana have come down to four points or less in their margins of victory, definitely not a comfortable win for either team. Boston came out in the first half like a team on a mission, making shots and looking to bury Indiana. Celtics big man Tyler Zeller had 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting in 24 minutes. While Zeller was busy attacking and making baskets, his Pacer counterpart Roy Hibbert could not get into the flow of the game. Hibbert finished the night with seven points in 19 minutes of action. The first quarter of this one wrapped up with Boston on top, 22-16.
The second quarter saw an almost equally tight match, with Boston winning the quarter, 28-23. Kelly Olynyk managed to play with basically one eye, and was surprisingly very effective. Olynyk had 19 points in 22 minutes on the floor, where he also went 3-for-4 from behind the three-point arc. While Boston was getting their offensive punch from their frontcourt, the Pacers turned to George Hill, who had 21 points on the night along with six rebounds and six assists. The halftime score was 50-39 with Boston on top.
As the third quarter opened up, Boston started to get stangnant on offense which caused a 10-0 run by Indiana. With Isaiah Thomas only contributing eight points on the night, Evan Turner stepped up and recorded his thrird triple-double of the season with 13 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds. Rodney Stuckey would not let his Pacers go quietly, however, and poured in 16 points on the night. Indiana went on to win the third quarter, 23-18.
With the score at 58-68 heading into the final frame, it was up to Boston to not crumble, and for Indiana to make a push. Sloppy play in the fourth by Boston had Indiana creeping to within six points, but Jae Crowder and the rest of the Celtics made plays when they had to in order to wrap up this game. Crowder had 13 points off the bench and was very involved in fast breaks. While the Celtics bigs in this one combined for 40 points, Indiana's duo of Hibbert-Mahinmi had only nine points on a combined 4-of-12 shooting. Boston won 100-87, and is now half a game behind the Nets for the final playoff spot.
Indiana's free-throw shooting hurt them by only standing at a 57 percent clip, while Boston shot 89 percent from the line. With that being said however, the Pacers hit on 40 percent of their threes in this game, while the Celtics struggled at a measely 22 percent.
Indiana's next game is at home against another playoff hopeful in Charlotte on Friday at 7 PM ET. Boston stays home as well, hosting the sixth seeded Milwuakee Bucks on Friday, April 3rd at 7:30 PM ET.