The Celtics rallied for their fourth straight win on Friday night, using a dominant second quarter to cruise to a 140-122 win over the Pacers. The victory enabled Boston to sweep the home-and-home series with Indiana this week.
Boston trailed by as many as 15 points in the first quarter after the Pacers made their first six 3-point attempts to begin the game. However, a massive rally came in the second quarter as Boston doubled up Indiana 47-22 in the frame to turn an early deficit into a runaway victory in the second half. The Pacers had no answer defensively for the visitors in the final three quarters as the Celtics shot 57 percent from the field and 51 percent from 3-point range in the win.
Jaylen Brown (30 points) led five different Celtics in double figures, while Sam Hauser added 23 points in 16 minutes off the bench as a balanced Boston offense diced up a shorthanded Pacers defense. Payton Pritchard also finished with 27 points and nine rebounds to help Boston improve to 19-11 on the season.
Andrew Nembhard had a team-high 18 points for the Pacers in the setback as Indiana dropped their seventh straight game.
The Celtics continue their five-game road trip on Sunday with a matinee matchup against the Blazers.
Here are four takeaways from the Celtics’ win on Friday night.
**A historic second quarter paved the way for a win:** The Celtics came one point shy of tying their season high for points in a frame with 47 points in the second quarter against a Pacers defense that was on their heels after the opening frame. Pritchard, White and Brown all scored in double figures in the period as Boston shot 64 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range. Boston doubled up Indiana 47-22 in the period as the Pacers cooled off quickly after a red-hot first quarter. That +25 margin in the frame tied Boston’s biggest margin ever in a second quarter in team history according to NBC Sports Boston. The output erased an 11-point first quarter lead for the Pacers and kept Boston comfortably in front for the rest of the night, as the Pacers never got the lead under double digits the rest of the way.
**Sam Hauser catches fire:** The sharpshooting forward entered Friday’s game with a subpar shooting season (35.7 percent from deep) but those numbers got a massive boost against the Pacers. The veteran erupted for a season-high 23 points, making his first seven 3-point attempts of the game. The array of makes came all over the floor as Hauser maneuvered around screens to gain separation from Indiana defenders and help Boston turn an early double-digit deficit into a rout. Hauser is now shooting over 40 percent from 3-point range in December, making an early season slump for the 28-year-old feel like a distant memory.
**Josh Minott is odd man out of rotation as more bench standouts emerge:** The return of Jordan Walsh to the starting five combined with the strong play of Luka Garza of late left Josh Minott receiving his first DNP-CD since October for Joe Mazzulla. The choice likely had less to do with Minott and more to do with strong play from Boston’s other young wings. Baylor Scheierman was a huge positive in the second quarter, playing all 12 minutes of the frame for Boston, which helped turn the tide of the game. With Hauser shooting great and Hugo Gonzalez coming off his three best games as a Celtic, Minott was the odd man out Friday night.
**Celtics are set up for a long winning streak if they can sustain this play:** Boston kicked off their five-game road trip on a winning note, and their four-game winning streak currently is tops in the Eastern Conference. With four straight sub-.500 opponents looming on the trip (Portland, Sacramento, Utah, LA Clippers), the Celtics are set up to put some position between themselves and the middle of the pack in the East playoff picture. Boston sits in the No. 3 seed but will be able to establish a longer stay in that spot with a lengthy winning streak out West.