National Basketball Association
Boston 116, Indiana 111
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Officials: #82 Suyash Mehta, #15 Zach Zarba, #77 Karl Lane
Attendance: N/A

Jayson Tatum scored 14 of his game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter as the Boston Celtics rallied past the Indiana Pacers 116-111 Tuesday night at Indianapolis.

Tatum added 11 rebounds for the Celtics, who snapped a two-game skid. Jaylen Brown had 20 points, Marcus Smart 17 and Tristan Thompson scored 14 to go with 10 rebounds.

Victor Oladipo led six Pacers in double figures with 24 points, Malcolm Brogdon had 19, T.J. Warren 17, Myles Turner 16 and Domantas Sabonis 14 with 11 rebounds. Justin Holiday contributed 12 points off the bench. Indiana lost for the first time in four games this season.

The Celtics, who trailed by 17 with 2:44 left in the third quarter, began the fourth with an 11-0 run to knot the score at 94. Boston seized a 100-98 lead when Tatum followed a three-point play with a go-ahead bucket at 7:29.

Tatum made a pair of free throws, Thompson had a tip-in and Smart followed a 3-pointer with two from the line for a 109-100 edge with 4:11 left. A Sabonis layup ended a nearly four-minute stretch without a field goal for Indiana at 2:58, and the Pacers got within 111-109 on an Oladipo floater with 1:01 remaining.

A Brown steal and bucket on the other end restored Boston's lead to four with 23.8 ticks to go, and the Celtics made 3 of 4 free throws the rest of the way to seal the result.

As in their first meeting Sunday, when the Pacers outscored the Celtics 39-28 in the third quarter on their way to a 108-107 victory, Indiana came out of halftime firing. The hosts began the quarter with a 14-6 surge, and after Boston got within one, the Pacers ripped off a 17-1 run to grab the game's largest lead, 88-71. Warren had nine points during the stretch.

Indiana maintained its double-digit edge to enter the fourth up 94-83.

The Celtics ended the first quarter up 31-26 but couldn't expand their lead beyond five in the second. The Pacers tied the game on five occasions in the period, including when Brogdon nailed a jumper with 1:59 left for a 53-all tie. Boston eked ahead 58-57 at the break.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Boston   Indiana
Jayson Tatum 27 Scoring Victor Oladipo 24
Payton Pritchard 5 Assists Domantas Sabonis 8
Jayson Tatum 11 Rebounds Domantas Sabonis 11
Marcus Smart 8 Free Throws Made Domantas Sabonis 3
Jaylen Brown 4 Steals Justin Holiday 4
Marcus Smart 1 Blocks Myles Turner 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Boston 116 50.0 9-22 27-37 21 43 3 10 14
Indiana 111 51.2 12-33 13-16 27 36 5 9 15
Upcoming Games
  • Indiana will play their next game at home against Cleveland. The Pacers have a W/L % of .667 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • Boston will play their next game at home against Memphis. The Celtics have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .667 after a loss.