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Boston earns share of East lead with win over Indiana

Mar 17, 2011 - 5:15 AM Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Paul Pierce scored 20 points, Jeff Green added 19 and the Boston Celtics reclaimed a share of the Eastern Conference lead with a 92-80 victory over the Indiana Pacers at TD Garden.

Ray Allen had 12 points and Nenad Krstic supplied 11 points with seven rebounds for the Celtics, who entered Wednesday having dropped three of their previous four games. Boston, at 48-18, moved into a tie with idle Chicago for the East's top seed.

Danny Granger and Paul George both scored 15 points for Indiana, which had lost six straight before a home-and-home sweep of New York.

"[Boston] is really tough to beat," Granger said. "They've played together for a while and know what they're doing."

Trailing by as many as eight points in the opening 12 minutes, the Celtics surged ahead in the second quarter, building a 44-31 lead on a pair of Kevin Garnett free throws.

Indiana then scored seven straight points before Pierce hit a shot from beyond the arc to put Boston up 47-38. The Celtics led by seven at halftime, but the Pacers closed to within four early in the third quarter when George and Granger drained consecutive threes.

Boston, though, countered with a 10-3 run to push its lead back to double digits at 64-53. The margin grew to 74-60 when Carlos Arroyo knocked down a trey as the third-quarter buzzer sounded.

The Celtics maintained a comfortable advantage throughout the final 12 minutes.

Game Notes

Garnett finished with 10 points for Boston, which shot 47 percent and limited Indiana to 38 percent shooting...Josh McRoberts had 14 points and 11 rebounds in defeat...The Pacers have lost seven straight in Beantown...Boston guard Delonte West had two points and three assists in his return from a sprained right ankle...Indiana scored exactly 20 points each quarter.