The last time the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers met, it was pretty ugly. The Celtics tied a franchise low with 25 first-half points and stumbled around in the second half as the Pacers brushed off the C's for an 87-74 win last Friday night.
Paul Pierce and the Celtics will look to extract some revenge as they battle Danny Granger and the improving Pacers in round two of their four-game season series at 7:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse (TV/Radio: CSNNE, WEEI).
In the first meeting, Ray Allen led all scorers with 23 points, but that was about the only bright spot for the Celtics, who were held to 39.4 percent shooting (26-of-66). Paul Pierce was 3-for-17 from the field and finished with 10 points. Kevin Garnett added 12 points and six rebounds while Rajon Rondo added 11 points and nine assists in defeat.
Danny Granger scored a team-high 15 points for the Pacers, who had six players reach double-digit scoring and shot 40.5 percent collectively. Darren Collison scored 14 points, George Hill had 13 points, both Paul George and Tyler Hansbrough had 12 points and Roy Hibbert finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for Indiana.
The Celtics are coming off another tough loss to the Chicago Bulls, 88-79, on Friday night. Ray Allen led the Celtics with 16 points and Rajon Rondo had 14 points and 11 assists as the C's shot 41.3 percent from the field. Boston had another dismal first half, falling behind by 19 points at the break. Despite a big third quarter, the C's couldn't finish the comeback.
Indiana survived against the Toronto Raptors, winning 95-90 on Friday night behind a 22-point and five-steal night from George Hill off the bench. Roy Hibbert had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers, who drained 30-of-66 buckets to shoot 45.5 percent. Danny Granger, the Pacers' leading scorer, was limited to just four points in the narrow victory.
Boston and Indiana will play twice more this season following Saturday night's contest.
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