Boston (15-17, 10-6 home) snapped a four-game losing streak (all losses had been by double-digits) with a 94-75 win against Indiana (19-14, 8-11 away) tonight at TD Garden. I wouldn't say this was a must-win but given how bad they've played and their caliber of upcoming opponents, they really needed a complete team effort.
The Celtics notched their largest margin of victory of 2012-13 while holding their opponent to the lowest total this season vs. the C's. Danny Granger and George Hill were both inactive for the Pacers, a stroke of good luck for the Celts-something which they've sorely lacked among other things.
Kevin Garnett (18 points, 7 rebounds) was wrongfully ejected for an inadvertent elbow of Tyler Hansbrough (19 points) with 8:23 left in the fourth quarter but it didn't matter since Boston's defense had already turned out the lights on Indiana. At that point, the C's were up 78-55.
Rajon Rondo had 18 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals, Paul Pierce put up 13 points, six rebounds and five assists while Courtney Lee (13 points, 5 rebounds) had arguably his best game as a Celtic. Jared Sullinger added 10 rebounds before he fouled out and Brandon Bass grabbed eight rebounds as he was inserted back into the starting lineup.
David West (10 points) was the only other Pacer in double figures. Indiana couldn't get over 19 points in the first three quarters of action. Boston slogged through a slow start of its own (15 points in the 1st quarter) as they exploded for 32 in the second quarter thanks to some stingy defense and easy transition buckets.
The Celtics meet the Hawks (20-11, 2nd place in Southeast Division) tomorrow night (7 p.m., CSN) in Atlanta, their first of four matchups this season.
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