Indiana Pacers F Dahntay Jones
INDIANAPOLIS – As Indiana Pacers coach Jim O'Brien saw it, this one mattered. And it mattered a lot.
Yes, the Pacers had won three consecutive games after an 0-3 start, but there was a nagging feeling – not only from observers, but within the organization – that came from the less-than-intimidating nature of the teams played during the streak.
PACERS-CELTICS PHOTO GALLERY: HERE
The Pacers, O'Brien said, needed a victory over an elite team. They got it Saturday.
And they did so in impressive fashion.
"We had beaten three teams that were struggling teams,” O'Brien said Saturday after the Pacers' increasingly gelling, productive supporting cast helped Indiana hold off the Boston Celtics, 113-104, in front of a loud crowd of 18,165 at Conseco Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis. “I said all week, 'We need to get a win over a quality opponent.' The Celtics are every definition of a quality opponent.
“We'll take it. We'll be proud. We'll enjoy it.”
The Pacers lost their first three games to Miami, Denver and Atlanta – each of which is near the top of its respective conference – and although they had won three consecutive games, the victories came over New York, Golden State and Washington. The last three had a combined 6-20 record.
Boston, which lost to Atlanta in Boston Friday, entered the game tied with Phoenix for the NBA's best record. They also entered the game as the best shooting team in the NBA at 50.1 percent. The Celtics shot 52.1 percent in the first half and 41.2 percent in the second.
They finished shooting 47.6 percent from the field.
“We did a great job executing our offense and making a lot of deflections on defense,” Pacers G Earl Watson said after the Pacers finished with eight steals, forcing 14 turnovers. “We're starting to become more determined on offense and defense. We beat a very focused team that was coming off a loss.”
The Pacers' four-game winning streak is their longest since April 2008.
“If we keep working doing whatever we're supposed to be doing, we can go far,” Pacers center Roy Hibbert said.
Danny Granger, the Pacers' All-Star forward, led Indiana with a game-high 29 points on 8-of-16 shooting. He also finished 6 of 9 from 3-point range.
“It's huge for us,” Granger said. “That's four in a row after losing three in a row. That's a very good Boston team that lost the previous night. Usually, when teams of that caliber lose, they come back ready to play.
“We still beat them them. That's a good game for us.”
On Saturday, the victory was about more than the team's lone All-Star. The Pacers, after trailing 61-52 at halftime, took an 84-79 lead by holding Boston to 35 percent shooting (7 of 20) and out rebounding the bigger Celtics 13-7.
“It gave us a lot of momentum that we were able to carry over to the fourth quarter,” Pacers guard Brandon Rush said.
The Pacers pushed ahead with a strong fourth quarter from forward Dahntay Jones. Known as a defensive presence in five previous NBA seasons, he averaged 15 points in six previous games with Indiana. He scored a season-high 25 points, and with the Celtics focusing their defense on Granger, Jones had 18 in the second half.
“He's been put in a situation where he's had the ball in his hands more than at any time in the NBA,” O'Brien said of Jones. “He's growing as an offensive player.”
Said Jones, “Coach O'Brien kept calling my number, and told me to be aggressive. We had something that worked, and we kept with it. That's what you do. You build plays that are working.”
Hibbert, who recently had a string of three consecutive triple doubles, finished with 11 points and two rebounds, with Watson finishing with 12 points and seven assists and Rush finishing with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Point guard T.J. Ford, returning from a back injury, had 10 points.
The victory was Indiana's third in succession at home. They beat the Wizards last Friday and the Warriors this past Wednesday.
“It was wonderful,” O'Brien said. “We really appreciate the support and everybody can see that this team just works their tails off and plays hard as they're capable of playing. They play for 48 minutes, and it's nice to play in front of a crowd that gave us everything they had for 48 minutes.
“It's nice to be establishing a home-court advantage.”
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