NBA: Boston bounces back to beat Pacers

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – The Boston Celtics rebounded from one of their worst defeats of the season to beat the Indiana Pacers 86-72 on Saturday at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse arena.

Forward Paul Pierce scored 24 points and Ray Allen came off the bench for the second game in a row to finish with 19 points for the Celtics who snapped a two-game skid with their sixth victory in their last eight games.

Boston was coming off a disappointing 93-86 loss to Chicago on Thursday in a contest in which they blew an 11 point lead at halftime at home. They lost to San Antonio the game before.

Kevin Garnett had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Celtics, who are in a first place battle in the Atlantic Division with the Philadelphia 76ers. The Celtics host the 76ers on Sunday.

Danny Granger led Indiana with 20 points and David West shot eight-of-10 from the field to finish with 16 points for Indiana, who had their four game win streak halted.

Allen started the game on the bench because of a sore ankle which caused him to miss six straight games before returning to face Chicago.

After hosting the 76ers, the Celtics will face Miami and Atlanta.