Teams in desperate need of a win meet Friday when the Indiana Pacers visit the Boston Celtics. The undermanned Pacers who started last season 11-0, won their opener against Philadelphia but have dropped four straight since. The Celtics tore apart Brooklyn in their opener, and were blown off the floor in the first half at Houston and Dallas before a late turnover by rookie Marcus Smart led to a 110-107 loss to Toronto on Wednesday.
Indiana has started a season 1-4 for the first time since opening 1-5 in the 1996-97 season. In its latest setback Wednesday at Washington, Donald Sloan fueled a comeback with a career-high 31 points but a surprising 3-point attempt by Roy Hibbert in the waning seconds clanked away and the Pacers fell 96-94. "Go for the win doesn't mean Roy go for the win, but you got to play the game," Indiana coach Frank Vogel said about the shot. "We did say in the timeout that we wanted to go for the win."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSN New England (Boston), Fox Sports Indiana
ABOUT THE PACERS (1-4): Indiana still plays solid defense but ranks 27th with 18.4 turnovers per game and has very few options on offense. C.J. Miles, who has taken injured Paul George's spot in the lineup, is shooting 25.4 percent - lowest in the NBA among players with 50 shots - and Luis Scola ranks last in the NBA among starters in plus-minus per 48 minutes (-27). Hibbert and Sloan are the only starters to top 20 points in a game (once each), but Chris Copeland has offered some firepower off the bench, averaging a team-high 17.2 points and 3.4 3-pointers.
ABOUT THE CELTICS (1-3): Boston hit 15-of-19 shots in the opening quarter en route to a 35-23 lead Wednesday, but Smart got stripped by Kyle Lowry, who fed DeMar DeRozan for the go-ahead three-point play that snapped a tie with 33 seconds remaining. “He’s probably really hurting right now, which, if he’s not, there’s something wrong," Boston coach Brad Stevens said of his prized rookie. "This should hurt. If it doesn’t hurt, then that’s where you would have issues." Rajon Rondo recorded his 30th career triple-double with 13 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds, and Jared Sullinger added season highs of 19 points and 16 rebounds.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Pacers G Rodney Stuckey (foot) will miss his second straight game, joining George (broken leg), George Hill (knee), David West (ankle) and C.J. Watson (foot) on the sidelines.
2. The Celtics have outscored their opponents by a combined 21 points in the first quarter of two home games and have been outscored by 36 in the first quarter in their two road games.
3. The Pacers swept all four games last season, holding the Celtics to 85 points per game. Boston has failed to reach the century mark in 10 straight games in the series.