– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
BOSTON — The Boston Celtics are going to see a lot of the Indiana Pacers over the next couple of days, and Jaylen Brown hopes the points keep pouring in for him and his team when they see blue and gold again in two days’ time — and just like the points poured in on Friday night.
Brown scored a season-high 44 points as the Celtics ended a two-game losing streak in a big way, defeating the Pacers 142-105 inside TD Garden. Jayson Tatum chipped in with 22 points and 13 rebounds while Payton Pritchard was two rebounds away from a triple double as Boston connected on 22 three-pointers to secure a wire-to-wire victory.
One of the last time these two teams squared off in Boston saw Brown hit a miraculous three-point shot to end regulation and force overtime in Game 1 of last season’s Eastern Conference Finals, a series Boston would sweep en route to winning the NBA championship. Brown picked up from where he left off with the Pacers and more on Friday, making all six of his shots from the floor — including three three-pointers — on his way to a 15-point first quarter as Boston opened up a 17-point lead after the game’s first 12 minutes.
Al Horford connected on back-to-back threes as part of a 13-0 run by the Celtics late in the second quarter that gave them a 67-35 lead. Boston led by many as 38 points in the fourth quarter.
Brown also had four steals in the game, now joining Larry Bird (five times) and Antoine Walker as the only Celtics with at least 44 points and four steals in a game. Pritchard ended the contest with 18 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds off the bench.
Indiana has lost two straight since going on a season-best five-game winning streak. Tyrese Haliburton had 19 points and nine assists, Bennedict Mathurin finished with 18 points and Pascal Siakam added 14 points and nine rebounds.
Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) and Jrue Holiday (shoulder) did not play for the Celtics, with the latter missing his second straight contest.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Friday evening’s game, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Erica Denhoff. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page, Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 33 pictures in total.
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
