Pierce scored 14 of his 21 points and had all four of his baskets in the fourth.
Ray Allen leads the C’s with 23 points. Kendrick Perkins chips in 19 and Rasheed Wallace, starting in place of the injured Garnett, grabs a team-high 13 rebounds.
A few other notable numbers from what turned out to be a pretty entertaining game:
– The Green set a season high with both 37 made free throws and 40 attempted. For those wondering what the franchise record from the line is for one game, it was a 35-of-35 showing against Miami back in 1990.
– Troy Murphy finishes with 24 points and 18 rebounds for Indiana (9-18). Garnett would’ve been defending him for the most part.
– Eddie House scored all 10 of his points in a span of less than three minutes of the second quarter.
The C’s will take their 22-5 record to Orlando for a Christmas day matchup with the Magic, who handed Boston one of its losses last month at the Garden.
Fourth quarter, 1:22, Celtics 97-90: Paul Pierce is now 12-of-13 from the line and the Celtics are 33-of-36 as a team.
Fourth quarter, 2:41, Celtics 93-88: Another offensive foul on Kendrick Perkins causes Rasheed Wallace to take exception with an official.
Wallace was held back by Rajon Rondo before he could say enough to pick up his 10th technical foul (one was rescinded earlier in the day by the NBA).
Doc Rivers has said he is OK with technicals as long as his team does not pick them up in the fourth quarter. That would’ve been a bad one if Wallace kept going.
Meanwhile, we have seen Paul Pierce emerge to score 10 big points in the fourth quarter.
Fourth quarter, 4:26, Celtics 88-86: Mired in one of his worst offensive games in recent memory, Paul Pierce has provided four quick points and a steal in the past few minutes.
Fourth quarter, 6:40, 86-86: Moments after Ray Allen hits two free throws to give the Celtics their largest lead and seemingly put the Pacers in a bit of a hole, Troy Murphy scores five quick points to tie it.
Murphy has had a monster game, with 22 points and 18 rebounds. Doc Rivers said before the game that Murphy is a “matchup nightmare,” and that was before we knew Kevin Garnett would not be available to defend him.
Fourth quarter, 8:34, Celtics 84-81: Rasheed Wallace, who has had a nice game with 11 rebounds and three steals, is currently being worked on on the sidelines for an apparent shoulder injury.
It does not appear serious and trainer Ed Lacerte has walked away.
More importantly, Paul Pierce finally has a basket in his 33rd minute of action, matching the Celtics’ largest lead.
Fourth quarter, 10:23, 79-79: T.J. Ford did not do his team much of a favor by picking up a technical foul here early in the fourth.
Paul Pierce hits the free throw but is now 0-of-10 from the floor.
End of third quarter, 77-77: The Celtics were able to erase a 15-point halftime deficit in the third quarter but the Pacers did a good job of stopping the bleeding when they did.
I find it curious that Doc Rivers has not played Shelden Williams one minute in this one with the depleted bench.
Third quarter, 2:06, Celtics 74-72: Paul Pierce is still without a basket.
Although I haven’t had a chance to go through his entire career it appears as if he has not played a game without a field goal in the last eight seasons.
He also appears to be limping just a bit and has almost no lift. Keep an eye on this.
Third quarter, 2:48, Celtics 73-71: A Rasheed Wallace dunk gives the Celtics their second lead of the game.
This is a 25-10 run for Boston, which is 10-of-16 from the floor this quarter.
Third quarter, 3:40, 69-69: It’s almost as if the Pacers knew they had a certain amount of energy in their tank and decided to expend it all in the first half.
Shots are falling short and Indiana is being outhusted all over the floor.
Ray Allen, who has 11 points in the quarter, gave the C’s their first lead of the game with a 3-pointer, but Brandon Rush answered with one of his own.
Third quarter, 5:53, Pacers 66-62: You had to expect the Celtics to at least have a bit more energy than the Pacers this half.
Boston was being embarrassed on its home floor and Indiana is playing its fourth game in five nights.
It shows as the C’s are on a 14-5 run. The only negative in the stretch was a technical foul issued to Kendrick Perkins for arguing who knows what.
Third quarter, 8:42, Pacers 62-54: Six straight points for Kendrick Perkins cuts the Pacers’ lead to eight.
The Celts have attacked the interior early and often here in the third quarter and Perkins has been the beneficiary. He gets all the credit, however, for the last basket, picking up a Rasheed Wallace miss and putting in a layup to get Boston within single digits for the first time this half.
Third quarter, 9:53, Pacers 61-48: Boston opens the second half with a 6-2 burst, capped by a jumper in the lane for Rajon Rondo.
Paul Pierce has yet to record a basket and is without an assist.
Third quarter, 11:55, Pacers 57-42: Underway in a rather important third quarter for the Celtics.
Of note, we did not see Shelden Williams at all in the first half. One would think in a game in which the Celts are down a big man he would be featured.
Halftime, Pacers 57-42: The Celtics have their work cut out for them in order to avoid a dismal homestand.
If not for a 15-of-16 showing at the line things would be a lot worse for the C’s. As it stands they are getting carved up by Earl Watson, are losing the battle on the boards, have shot 30 percent (12-of-40) from the floor and have seen Paul Pierce – a game removed from one of his finest shooting efforts – put up an 0-of-7 stinker.
The Pacers, whose 113 points in their first meeting with Boston represents a high for a Celtics opponent this season, just tied the mark for a Boston foe for a first half. They made 7-of-15 3-pointers and got nine players into the scoring column.
We’ll have to see if Doc Rivers can put a little life into a listless bunch. Pierce has had a few notable halftime rants in the locker room this season. After the way he performed he may be tearing things apart right now.
Back in a bit.
Second quarter, 2:22, Pacers 50-40: Earl Watson has completely outplayed Rajon Rondo in the first half.
With his third 3-pointer Watson already has 18 points, two shy of his season high set in the opener back in October.
Rondo has five points and three assists in 15 minutes. He also has the Celtics’ only missed free throw.
Second quarter, 5:20, Pacers 43-38: A pair of free throws by Kendrick Perkins pulled the Celtics within three points for the first time since it was 8-6 but Earl Watson had another hoop to put Indiana up five again.
Boston is now 13-of-14 from the line and 11-of-30 from the floor.
Second quarter, 6:35, Pacers 41-36: We wondered which Celtic might step up with Kevin Garnett out and it took a little more than a quarter to figure that out – Eddie House is on fire.
House has all 10 of his points in less than three minutes of the second quarter.
With Paul Pierce 0-of-6 and on the bench, House may be a nice option.
Second quarter, 8:57, Pacers 36-28: Eddie House and Tony Allen teamed up on the highlight of the year in Sunday’s win over Minnesota, and have been featured in the last few minutes here.
House has scored five straight points for the Celtics and Allen just did what he does best, stepping into a passing lane long enough to force an errant pass by Pacers center Roy Hibbert.
Second quarter, 9:45, Pacers 34-26: There are times when it looks like Kendrick Perkins is completely alone on the glass, particularly on the offensive end, where the Celtics have had just one second chance.
End of first quarter, Pacers 28-21: A 7-0 run to end the quarter for the Celtics, who are living on the line early on.
Boston is 8-of-9 from the stripe, a scenario which may continue as the Pacers lead the league in fouls committed per game. It might need it going forward if the cold shooting continues.
The C’s are 6-of-18 through the first 12 minutes.
First quarter, 1:03, Pacers 28-16: A pair of North Carolina legends matched up on one end of the floor with Rasheed Wallace and Tyler Hansbrough on one another.
First quarter, 2:41, Pacers 26-13: Earl Watson is currently shredding the Celtics, or at least getting lost in the shuffle.
Watson has 12 points in the games first nine-plus minutes. He has reached double figures just five times all season (six now), with a season high of 20 points.
As we thought, Indiana is owning the interior thus far. It owns a 12-6 rebounding advantage and leads Boston in points in the paint and second chance points.
First quarter, 4:14, Pacers 21-11: We were curious who would be the first Celtic off the bench and it’s Brian Scalabrine, sporting a new haircut.
Scalabrine draws a foul within seconds of his entry and buries both free throws.
First quarter, 5:03, Pacers 18-8: For those of you wondering, Kevin Garnett is not on the bench, nor has he been seen in the back halls.
You may recall that he watched most of the Celtics games last season when he was hurt from the locker room. He simply could not contain himself while on the bench, always wanting to jump into the mix.
By the way, I have kicked off Mike Dunleavy with that last comment. He just hit a 3-pointer to give the Pacers their largest lead and has six points since my last entry.
First quarter, 6:45, Pacers 10-6: Including a heave from beyond halfcourt that was an attempt to beat the shot clock buzzer, Mike Dunleavy is 2-of-20 from the floor in his last two games.
He is marking Paul Pierce, who should be attacking early and often here with the Celts down a scoring option.
First quarter, 9:45, Pacers 8-2: A slow start for the Kevin Garnett-less Celtics as the Pacers open up in fine fashion.
One thing to watch for without Garnett is the rebounding battle. Indiana ranks among the league leaders in total rebounds. Much of that has to do with the fact that the Pacers are a poor shooting team, and Danny Granger is out, but it’s worth noting.
Without Rasheed Wallace in the second half of Friday’s matchup with Philadelphia, Boston struggled on the glass and consequently coughed one up.
7:29 p.m.: Late word from the Garden that Kevin Garnett will not dress for this one due to a right thigh bruise.
There was no word from Doc Rivers about this but the word just circulated around the media room. Not sure when he suffered the injury or how severe it is but we will pass on any news when we get it.
We assume Rasheed Wallace will be in the starting lineup but still waiting on word for that.
7:01 p.m.: Just over a half-hour until we get things going here at the Garden and we just heard from Doc Rivers.
With a trip to Orlando on the horizon for a Christmas day matchup with the Magic, Rivers will be home with his family.
Too bad it’s all business.
“I’m going home but I’m not going home,” Rivers said, implying he will be too busy to enjoy the holiday with the family. “It would be perfect if there was no game.”
Rivers, who appeared in some Christmas day games as a player and was in Los Angeles on Dec. 25 last year when the Celtics lost to the Lakers, stopped short of bashing the league’s holiday tradition.
“Obviously I’d rather be home with my family but we sign on to this. I try to look at it as a privilege…it means your team is doing well.”
Glen Davis will travel with the team on the four-game road trip but Rivers said it is very unlikely he will play.
We also have received starting lineups for this one.
The Celts go with the usual bunch that fell as a unit in Indiana on Nov. 14. Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins are 106-29 as a starting unit.
The Pacers have a different group than the one that started in their win over the C’s. Earl Watson and Dahntay Jones are the guards, Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy at forward, and Roy Hibbert is the center.
12:23 p.m.: For the first time this season, the Celtics (21-5) will have a chance to avenge an earlier loss when they host the Indiana Pacers (9-17) at the TD Garden.
The tip is scheduled for just after 7:30 p.m. and we will be courtside following all the action.In what was a somewhat shocking result at the time, Boston dropped a 113-104 decision at Indiana on Nov. 14. In the best offensive showing for a Celtics opponent this season, the Pacers shot 53 percent from the floor and outscored the Green by 18 points in the second half.
Danny Granger, who had predicted a win over Boston just days earlier, led Indiana with 29 points. Ray Allen paced the C’s with 24.
The teams have gone in opposite directions since.
Boston has won 13 of 15 after Sunday’s 122-104 rout of Minnesota. Paul Pierce tied a franchise record by making all six of his 3-pointers and finished with 29 points.
The Pacers are just 5-14 since their best win of the season and are finishing their second back-to-back in the last five days. They dropped the first half Monday night at home to Milwaukee, 84-81.
Despite the loss in November, the C’s have won six of the last eight meetings and three in a row at the Garden.
