Boston Celtics vs Indiana Pacers Box Score on Dec 18, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 18, 2017

INDIANAPOLIS -- A Terry Rozier steal and go-ahead layup with 1.2 seconds remaining gave the Boston Celtics a wild win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.

Boston gave up a 19-point lead to the Pacers late in the fourth quarter, but a furious late rally was capped by Rozier's steal and game-winner, giving the Celtics a 112-111 victory.

Kyrie Irving led the Celtics with 30 points. Al Horford flirted with a triple double, scoring 14 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out nine assists. Jayson Tatum chipped in 16 points and Marcus Smart added 15.

Indiana was paced by Victor Oladipo's 38 points, 30 of which came after halftime. Domantas Sabonis scored 18 points off the bench. Center Myles Turner had a season-low 2 points.

Early on it looked Boston might run away with this one as the Celtics wasted little time Monday night showing why they have the best record in the Eastern Conference.

Hitting their first 10 shots from the floor, the Celtics led into the game's final minutes.

The Celtics (26-7) were up by as many as 19 points, but the Pacers (17-14) trimmed a 15-point halftime deficit to seven heading into the fourth quarter.

The lead continued to shrink throughout the fourth quarter with an Oladipo three-point play tying the score at 100, with 1:52 to play.

Two possessions later, Oladipo gave the Pacers their first lead of the night with a three pointer from the top of the key.

Another Oladipo layup on the next trip down the floor gave Indiana a five-point lead with just 31.3 seconds to go.

But the Celtics weren't done. Irving drilled a three pointer to cut the lead to 110-109 with 9.3 seconds left.

As the Pacers were inbounding the ball with four seconds remaining, Rozier intercepted a Bjoan Bogdanovic pass intended for Oladipo and broke free the other way for the game-winning layup.

The Celtics made 16 of 26 from three-point range. The 61.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc was a season-best for Brad Stevens' team.

Boston scored 38 first-quarter points on Monday and shot 60 percent in the opening half.

Indiana had just two assists in the first half and finished the night with 14, a season-low.

NOTES: Boston started the game on a 12-0 run. The Celtics 38 first-quarter points were the most the Pacers have allowed in a first quarter this season. ... Boston has now won five straight games over Indiana. ... The Pacers have now completed seven of their 14 back-to-backs this season. Only three NBA teams play fewer back-to-backs this year. ... Pacers veteran C Al Jefferson saw action during the first quarter. Jefferson had been a DNP -- Coach's Decision in the previous 17 games. Jefferson didn't score in four minutes off the bench.