Pacers at Celtics
The Boston Celtics held onto the top spot in the Eastern Conference with an overtime win in Washington on Thursday. They now begin a three-game homestand leading up to the All-Star break, beginning with a visit from the Indiana Pacers on Friday.
Kyrie Irving made three free throws in the closing seconds of regulation to force OT and then scored seven points in the extra session to help Boston maintain a one-game lead over Toronto in the East with a 110-104 triumph over the Wizards. Irving finished with 28 points and Jaylen Brown added 16 for the Celtics, who swept a 3-0 homestand last week and have won five of their last six overall. The Pacers fell to the Wizards 111-102 at home on Monday and then they were given some extra rest when Wednesday's visit to New Orleans resulted in a postponement due to a leaky roof at the Smoothie King Center. Due to the postponement and the upcoming All-Star break, Indiana will play a total of four games in 17 days.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Indiana, NBCS Boston
ABOUT THE PACERS (30-25): Indiana chose to sit out Thursday's NBA trade deadline as it presses on with a crew built around All-Star guard Victor Oladipo, who missed Monday's loss to Washington due to an illness. Bojan Bogdanovich did his best to fill the void with a season-high 29 points while making five 3-pointers, and backup Joe Young matched him from beyond the arc en route to 17 points, his second-best output this season. "Credit my teammates for finding me and getting me open and my preparation, the coaches, Al (Jefferson) and the vets getting me ready, keeping me positive to go out there and perform when I have to," Young told the team website.
ABOUT THE CELTICS (40-16): Boston also stood pat at the deadline but it was able to introduce one of its recent additions in center Greg Monroe, who had five points and six rebounds in 20 minutes at Washington in his team debut. "When I talked to [coach Brad Stevens], he said to do what I do," Monroe told reporters before the win. "He's not going to ask me to be anyone other than myself. … Obviously they're playing at a really high level. Just help in any way I can." The Celtics defeated the Pacers without Oladipo in November and then won 112-111 in a December rematch when Terry Rozier stole an ill-advised pass from Bogdanovic and went in for a go-ahead dunk with 1.5 seconds left.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Bogdanovic has made 9-of-14 3-pointers over the last two games.
2. Celtics SF Jayson Tatum is 5-for-18 from the floor - including 0-of-4 from 3-point range - over the last two contests.
3. Boston has won five straight meetings overall and four in a row at Indiana.