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Fresh off milestone, Garnett leads Celtics against Pacers

Nov 1, 2008 - 10:39 AM Boston (2-0) at Indiana (0-1) 7:00 pm. EDT.

INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- A thousand games into his career, Kevin Garnett is showing no signs of slowing down.

Garnett will look to lead the defending champion Boston Celtics to a third straight win on Saturday against the Indiana Pacers.

Garnett scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 96-80 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Friday. The 32-year-old became the youngest player to play in 1,000 regular season games in the win.

"It feels crazy, to be honest," Garnett said of the accomplishment. "Some players come in here ... and the people we grew up playing against or playing with, unfortunately, they're not in the league. So, to have a plateau of 1,000 games says a lot not only about my conditioning but taking care of my body and trying to be the best player I can be."

Boston displayed the stifling defense that led it to its 17th NBA championship last season. The Celtics, who led the leagued in defensive field goal percentage (41.9), limited the Bulls to just 29 percent from the floor - including 17 percent (4-of-23) in the first quarter.

Boston faces an Indiana team that opened its season with a 100-94 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday. Danny Granger, who signed a contract extension on Friday, led Indiana with 33 points.

The Pacers lost all three meetings last season.