One-Eyed Olynyk & Turner (Another Triple-Double) Leads Celts to Key 100-87 Win vs. Pacers

Wednesday at TD Garden was one of those rare times when the Celtics felt totally relevant again at least on a local level for a few fleeting hours. Against one of the other shitbag teams that they are battling with for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, Boston (34-41 overall, 19-19 home) picked up a huge 100-87 win over Indiana (32-43 overall, 13-25 away). The C's went up two games on the Pacers and pulled within half a game of Miami (7th) and Brooklyn (8th).

Evan Turner's third triple-double of the month (13 points, 11 rebounds & 12 assists) propelled the Celtics but before, during and after the game, everyone was talking about Kelly Olynyk's (19 points) left eyelid which had been swollen shut after he caught an elbow by Shavlik Randolph in shootaround. The best part is that while discussing his injury with Celtics reporters, he managed to note that his buddy Dougie Hamilton has broken ribs, something that no Bruins writers knew (we had assumed it was a concussion). You've gotta love Canadians, they are such honest people.

Tyler Zeller also scored 19 points, Avery Bradley added 11 while Jae Crowder notched 13 points off the bench. George Hill led the Pacers with 21 points, six rebounds and six assists. C.J. Miles scored 12 points and the ghost of David West put up 10 points and eight rebounds. Rodney Stuckey scored 16 points off the bench for Indiana.

Showing how much one superstar can determine an NBA team's fate, Indiana seems to have never adjusted from Paul George's gruesome leg injury over the summer. Other than him, granted he's a budding superstar, this is basically the same squad that was in the Eastern Conference Finals last season vs. Miami. Clearly, they've given up and they couldn't be bothered slumming it in the gutter for the eighth-seed and a quick exit vs. Atlanta a near certainty.

Boston carried over its momentum from Monday's win at Charlotte into this one. They were up 22-16 after the first quarter and 50-39 at halftime. The Pacers outscored the Celtics 23-18 in the third quarter but the home team closed it out just fine with a 32-25 fourth quarter.

A welcome byproduct of the Celts being competitive almost all the time is that for the first time in years, they are actually very enjoyable to watch. Whatever head coach Brad Stevens is doing to get the most out of a limited roster, he has accomplished and then some. Boston plays hard and unselfishly, a style that rarely works in the NBA (Spurs, Hawks this season, anyone else?). They grabbed seven more rebounds (46-39), dished out 12 more assists (29-17), made four more steals (9-5) and scored 10 more fast break points (19-9).

It is another really important matchup on Friday as the struggling Bucks (37-38) visit the Garden. Milwaukee is three games ahead of Boston so a win by the C's would cut that down to two manageable games. At this point, I've completely changed my tune and I want to see Stevens & Co. in the playoffs. After all, what's the difference between mid-first round draft picks? They might as well gets some postseason experience for everybody involved with this young team.

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Other Than Miami, There Is Nobody For The Celtics To Fear In The Eastern Conference

In an NBA regular season, you won't see a much more meaningful or thrilling victory than the one turned in by the Celtics tonight in Indiana. Boston (33-27, 12-18 away) scored the game's last 12 points, capped off by Jeff Green's (11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks) perfectly designed layup with 0.5 seconds left to beat the Pacers (38-23, 25-7 home) 83-81 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. It was Boston's fourth straight win.

Boston could have packed it in against a truly solid team (No. 2 in the Eastern Conference), playing the second game of a back-to-back on the road but instead they came home with arguably their best win of the season. Let's just agree that the win in New York, OT vs. Miami and 3OT vs. Denver were all spectacular but if you think about it, this probably meant the most since we're getting to the last segment of the regular season. Plus, this was a possible playoff preview and for the second time in as many games the Celts came out on top.

Kevin Garnett had 18 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Paul Pierce added 13 points and eight rebounds while Avery Bradley scored 13 points. Jason Terry notched 10 points off the bench.

One reason I don't fear Indiana is that without Danny Granger (injured for most of this season), they lack that true go-to scorer which is an absolute must in the postseason. Sure, Paul George (16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals), George Hill (14 points), Roy Hibbert (12 points, 12 rebounds, 6 blocks) and David West (11 points, 16 rebounds) are all nice players but they'll never win a playoff game by themselves. Don't even get me started on Lance Stephenson (12 points, 5 steals) either.

Boston's bench outscored Indiana's 29-16. The Celtics hung around the whole time, which is all you can ask against a top opponent. Sure enough, the Pacers had trouble closing it out and that's when Boston took advantage. Indiana led 27-19 after one quarter and 49-42 at halftime. With an ugly 19-16 third quarter in their favor, Indiana looked poised to get the win. Boston used all their experience and winning pedigree to put on a clinic in the fourth quarter (25-13).

The C's shot 4.6% better from the field (41-36.4%) and they had six more assists (18-12). Boston returns to TD Garden on Friday (8 p.m., CSN) for a very important game with the Hawks (34-26, 2nd in Southwest Division). Atlanta is only a game up on Boston, meaning a win by the Celts would bump them up from seventh in the Eastern Conference to fifth.

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The Question Of 2011-12: Will The Boston Celtics Ever Beat A Good Team?

I want to have hope for the Boston Celtics in 2011-12, I really do. However, when they've lost to every half-decent team (plus New Orleans) that they've played so far, I can't help but feel that they are front-running frauds.

Tonight, the Indiana Pacers came to TD Garden and they snapped Boston's (4-4) misleading (since it was against Detroit, Washington-twice-and New Jersey) four-game winning streak with an 87-74 beating that truthfully was never really in doubt.

For whatever reason, the Celts had no rhythm offensively other than Ray Allen, who had a game-high 23 points after missing Wednesday against New Jersey with the flu.

They tied a franchise low with 25 points in the first half. Somehow they were only down eight at that point but the Pacers (5-2) were efficient, younger and had more energy.

Paul Pierce had one of the worst shooting performances (3 of 17) in his career as he was held to 10 points. Kevin Garnett put up his now customary quiet 12 points and six rebounds while Rajon Rondo was held in check (11 points, 9 assists, 3 steals).

Four of the five Pacers that started scored in double-figures. Only David West (2 points, 10 rebounds), who spurned the Celtics' offer to come to Boston, had a bad game. Danny Granger led Indiana with a modest 15 points while Darren Collison (14 points), Paul George (12 points) and Roy Hibbert (11 points, 12 rebounds) all played well.

The two main reasons that the Pacers won were because they owned the glass (47-36 including 14-7 offensive rebounds) and their bench absolutely crushed Boston's (33-14).

George Hill (13 points) and Tyler Hansbrough (12 points) were both big sparks off the bench for Indiana that Boston had no answer for. The normally reliable Brandon Bass had his worst game in a Celtics uniform with five points (2 of 7 shooting) and four rebounds in 25 minutes.

I wouldn't normally say that four games is a reasonable sample size in an NBA season but since this particular one is only 66, I'd say the next nine days are vital for the C's. They have two more huge games at home: Wednesday vs. the defending champion Dallas Mavericks then Friday vs. Chicago. After that, they go to Indiana on Saturday and come home to face Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, January 16.

They need to beat either the Mavs or Bulls and then the Pacers the second time around to show that they are still elite in the Eastern Conference and by extension, the NBA. Otherwise, it's going to be a long and mediocre season.

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The San Antonio Spurs will put you to sleep and beat you

When you sit back and think about it objectively, the San Antonio Spurs are one of the greatest NBA teams in my lifetime and one of pro sports' truly dominant franchises.

So why do you never hear a word about them, even when they're winning championships? First of all, San Antonio is a tiny market and their biggest star-Tim Duncan-is a sort of anti-star.

He's not flashy, he doesn't have ridiculous dance routines with his teammates and therefore he's not suitable for a daily Sportscenter highlight.

Teamwork and unselfishness are not ways to make a name for yourself in the popularity contest that is the NBA but I'm here to salute the Spurs and their mind-numbing efficiency.

With the Celtics playing some of their best basketball of the season, the Spurs came into the TD Garden last night and dealt the C's their worst beating of the year, 94-73.

Tony Parker is out with a broken hand, which I'm sure his wife Eva Longoria is helping him nurse back to health (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) but the Spurs (44-28) haven't skipped a beat as they've found their game when it really matters.

Manu Ginobili is carrying them right now, as evidenced by his game-high 28 points and seven assists last night. George Hill, starting for Parker, added 15 points and Richard Jefferson, who's had an awful season with his new team, notched 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Boston (47-26) was held to its lowest scoring output of the season so not surprisingly the offensive numbers were pathetic. Paul Pierce led the Celts with 18 points but Kevin Garnett (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Shelden Williams (11 points off the bench) were the only Celtics with a pulse in that lifeless effort.

Believe it or not, it was a close game for the first half as Boston led 23-19 after the first quarter and trailed 44-43 at the half.

A 12-0 San Antonio run to start the third quarter shifted the momentum dramatically and the Spurs held the Celtics to 30 points in the second half. Duncan didn't even score in double figures in the rout, putting up eight points and nine rebounds.

Hopefully this was just a blip on the NBA calendar as the Oklahoma City Thunder come to the Garden on Wednesday night (before Houston and Cleveland wrap up this extended homestand).