Jayson Tatum had 22 points and Gordon Hayward came off the bench to score 21 on Friday night, as the Boston Celtics ran past the Indiana Pacers 117-97 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The win gives Boston fourth place in the Eastern Conference and home court over Indiana in what will be a first round playoff series.
Indiana (47-33) led by three after one quarter, and held a one point advantage with 8:25 to go in first half before Boston took over. The Celtics took the lead on a Hayward jumper, and never trailed the rest of the way ending the first half on a 23-11 run making it 58-47 at the break. Boston (48-32) led by 18 in the third quarter, and led by as many as 25 in the final 12 minutes in picking up their third straight win.
Tatum added seven rebounds, two assists, and three steals to lead six scorers in double figures for the Celtics. Hayward was 9-9 from the floor and added four rebounds. Kyrie Irving played 27 minutes and added 17 points and six assists. Al Horford, Aron Baynes, and Marcus Morris all had 11 points, with Baynes recording the double double by adding 11 rebounds. The Pacers put seven players in double figures, with Myles Turner leading the way with 15 points. Domantas Sabonis and Tyreke Evans each had 12 points, Doug McDermott and Aaron Holiday had 11 a piece, and Thaddeus Young and Wesley Matthews each finished with 10 points.
Boston also owns the tiebreaker over Indiana if the two teams finish with identical records, by winning the season series 3-1. The Celtics host Orlando Sunday at 7:30 pm at TD Garden.
