Celtics defenders (from left) Neemias Queta, Payton Pritchard and Josh Minott had Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard surrounded during the first half of Monday night's game at TD Garden.
Celtics defenders (from left) Neemias Queta, Payton Pritchard and Josh Minott had Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard surrounded during the first half of Monday night's game at TD Garden.Ben Pennington/for The Boston Globe
With the Celtics spiraling against the struggling and undermanned Pacers on Monday night, and facing a 20-point deficit in the opening minute of the third quarter, coach Joe Mazzulla turned to an all-bench lineup in search of a jolt.
The group swiftly cut the Pacers’ lead to just 6, and Jaylen Brown mostly took it from there, with a powerful closing kick that helped the Celtics secure a 103-95 win, their third in a row.
Brown finished with 31 points and 9 rebounds to lead the Celtics. But the game truly turned behind less famous options. Backup center Luka Garza tussled for offensive rebounds on every possession, a key factor as the Celtics tallied 24 second-chance points.
Rookie sparkplug Hugo Gonzalez (6 points, 11 rebounds) started the third quarter in place of Josh Minott and played all but 21 seconds of the second half, agitating the Pacers with his defense.
The Pacers, a poor 3-point shooting team, erupted by making 8 of 9 at the start. But then reality set in and they went just 1 for 20 in the second half.
The backups helped trim the 20-point deficit to 82-74 by the start of the fourth. Then Brown began to carve through Indiana’s defense with a variety of crafty finishes at the rim.
His driving layup with 7:20 left put the Celtics in front for the first time since the opening quarter, 85-84. A minute later he added an elegant left-handed layup.
With the Celtics clinging to a 93-91 lead and the shot-clock running down, Brown swished a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer from the right corner to make it 96-91. He had 14 points and 5 rebounds in the fourth.
Pascal Siakam had 25 points to lead the Pacers.
Derrick White (19 points) hit a 3-pointer from the right corner on the game’s first possession, but that was not a harbinger for the Celtics, who went just 4 for 17 over the rest of the first half.
The Pacers had no such issues. Indiana entered the night shooting a league-low 32.3 percent from the 3-point line and connecting on 11.9 per game. They topped that mark by pouring in 12 of 20 in the first half alone.
All five starters hit at least one in the opening quarter. The start was particularly scorching. Indiana connected on 8 of its first 9, with few even grazing the rim.
After the Pacers’ long-range shooting cooled slightly, Andrew Nembhard, one of the few familiar names on the active roster, kept the Celtics at a distance with good work in the mid-range.
At the other end, Brown and White were held to just 2 points on 1 for 8 shooting in the second quarter, and Siakam’s 14-point period helped the Pacers roll into halftime with a61-43 lead.
Gonzalez started the second half in place of Minott, with Mazzulla looking for his defensive tenacity to provide a spark.
When the Pacers stretched their lead to 20 in the opening minutes of the third, Mazzulla called timeout and subbed out everyone except Gonzalez. This group quickly unspooled a 10-2 run, with Luka Garza battling on the offensive glass and Anfernee Simons finding a rhythm further from the basket.
The Pacers, meanwhile, began to resemble the below-average 3-point shooting team they’ve been all season. They missed their first eight attempts of the third quarter, mostly on similar looks that they generated in the first half.
Their frustrations began to boil over. Nembhard was whistled for an offensive foul when he pushed off Gonzalez in the backcourt, and a technical foul followed moments later.
A Simons step-back 3-pointer with 3:15 left made it 74-68, and the game was essentially reset.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.