Celtics win ugly game over Pacers
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The Celtics have been at their best this season when they are forcing turnovers, spacing the floor and knocking down outside shots.
They found out in their Game 1 win over the Pacers that they are equipped to win an ugly, physical game as well.
Irving and Marcus Morris each scored 20 points, and the Boston rallied in the second half to the beat Indiana Pacers 84-74 on Sunday in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.
Jayson Tatum finished with 15 points. Al Horford added 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Gordon Hayward had 10 points. It was the first playoff game since 2017 for Irving and Hayward after each missed last year’s postseason with injuries.
“I just try to be aggressive on the ball, be in the right spots,” Irving said. “I just really want to be aggressive and really be the head of the snake.”
Game 2 is Wednesday night in Boston.
The Pacers led by 11 points in the first half but had just eight points in the third quarter. The Celtics capitalized and led by as many as 22 in the fourth. The 29 points that Indiana scored in the second half were its worst of the season.
Cory Joseph had 14 points for the Pacers. Bojan Bogdanovic was the lone Pacers starter in double figures with 12 points.
Both teams shot under 40 percent for the game. Boston hit just 36% (28 of 77) and had 20 turnovers. Indiana connected on 33% of its shots (28 of 84) and turned it over 13 times.
The Celtics’ 84 points were their fewest of the season and marked the first time they scored fewer than 100 points and won.
“We held them to 84 points. We just didn’t score enough,” Indiana’s Wesley Matthews said.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens and Pacers coach Nate McMillan both said before the series that the more physical team would have the edge.
After a shaky start, it turned out to be Boston.
Portland 104, Oklahoma City 99: Damian Lillard scored 30 points and the third-seeded Portland Trail Blazers opened their playoff series against the No. 6 Oklahoma City Thunder with a 104-99 victory.
Enes Kanter added 20 points and a career playoff-high 18 rebounds for the Blazers, who were making their sixth straight postseason appearance.