FILE – Oshae Brissett #12 of the Indiana Pacers celebrates against the Charlotte Hornets in the 2021 NBA Play-In Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on May 18, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Andy Lyons/Getty Images/AFP
Oshae Brissett scored a season-high 27 points to lead four Indiana scorers with at least 20 points as the host Pacers handed the visiting Boston Celtics just their second loss in the last 13 games, 128-107 on Sunday.
Indiana and Boston came into Sunday’s matchup on opposite trajectories, with the Celtics having lost just one game since Jan. 29 and the Pacers on a skid dropping eight of the previous nine.
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But behind its balanced scoring effort and dominant second and fourth quarters, Indiana cruised to its most lopsided win since beating Chicago by 32 points on Nov. 22.
Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Malcolm Brogdon all made multiple 3-pointers en route to 22, 21 and 20 points, respectively. Haliburton shot 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, including a deep shot before the shot clock expired that gave the Pacers a 66-55 lead going into halftime.
Brissett led Indiana to a 17-of-33 shooting afternoon from 3-point range, hitting a career-high six 3-pointers on a career-most nine attempts.
Jalen Smith, who also made two 3-pointers, recorded a double-double for the Pacers with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Seven Pacers in total scored in double figures with Chris Duarte and Isaiah Jackson each adding 11 points.
While Indiana was hot from outside, Boston struggled. The Celtics went just 12-of-43, including 2-of-12 from Jayson Tatum. Tatum scored a team-high 24 points despite his poor 3-point shooting, and spending an extended period of the first quarter on the bench due to foul trouble. He finished with a plus-minus rating of -24.
Jaylen Brown scored 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the floor and dished eight assists. Robert Williams III posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Celtics cut the deficit to seven points in the fourth quarter, but the Pacers closed the game on a 29-15 run spanning almost eight minutes.