Pacers 97, Celtics 83
Danny Granger shook off a forgettable night with 21 points as the Indiana Pacers remained unbeaten in their own building with a 97-83 triumph over the Boston Celtics on Saturday night.
Granger, who struggled in Friday's win over Toronto before being ejected in the second quarter, recorded his second 20-point effort in the last three games as part of yet another balanced attack for the Pacers. Darren Collison and Paul George added 17 points apiece in the win.
Leading by eight points at halftime, Collison and the Pacers pulled away thanks to a pivotal third-quarter run. Collison buried a 3-pointer to put Indiana up 67-54 with 7:39 remaining, and he added back-to-back baskets later in the quarter as the Pacers used an 11-3 surge to build an 82-67 advantage entering the fourth.
The Pacers' trademark defense took over from there, limiting the Celtics to a pair of Brandon Bass jumpers in the opening 7 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter as Indiana improved to 5-0 at home on the season.
Paul Pierce led the way with 21 points for the Celtics, who have lost four games in a row and haven't scored more than 85 points in any of them.
Indiana held Boston below 40 percent shooting to take a 29-24 lead after one quarter, and kept up the pressure over the next 12 minutes. Pierce's two free throws midway through the second quarter made it a six-point game, but Indiana responded with a 9-2 run capped by a George Hill 3-pointer and held on from there to lead 56-48 at the break.