Thomas Leads Celtics To Win Over Pacers

By ESPN

Isaiah Thomas loves the fourth quarter, and he finished with a flourish Thursday night.

Thomas scored 14 of his 28 points in the final period, leading the Boston Celtics to a 109-102 victory against the Indiana Pacers.

"Fourth quarter ain't for everybody," Thomas said. "That's when it really matters. I just embraced the opportunity. ... I love when the game is close -- I want to be that type of guy. I just do what I've always done, I guess."

Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder each scored 15 points for the Celtics, who have won four in a row. Marcus Smart had 12 points, and Amir Johnson and Kelly Olnyk finished with 11 apiece.

Boston outscored Indiana 29-9 in the second quarter, turning a nine-point deficit into a 51-40 halftime lead. The Pacers pulled within four late in the game, but were unable to catch the Celtics down the stretch.

"We got ourselves into a big hole in the second quarter, and that's hard to crawl out of," said Paul George, who scored 19 points for Indiana. "We made them take contested shots, but all of their guys can shoot 3-pointers, which makes them hard to guard. The Celtics set the tempo, and it's up to us to match that."

Jeff Teague led Indiana with 31 points and eight assists. CJ Miles also scored 19 points, and Thaddeus Young had 15 points and 12 rebounds for his second straight double-double.

Miles made a 3-pointer to trim Boston's lead to 87-83 with 5:26 left, but Al Horford responded with a reverse layup for Boston. Thomas then made two foul shots and a layup to make it 93-83 with 4:10 to go.

Thomas and Crowder each made two free throws in the final 15 seconds to help the Celtics hold on for the win.

Horford finished with eight points and 11 rebounds and Thomas also collected nine assists as Boston closed out a perfect three-game road trip.

"The last game of the trip is always the biggest one," Thomas said. "We've had a successful road trip and we got some confidence from it."

Thursday, December 22 Scoreboard

Boston 109, Indiana 102

Golden State 117, Brooklyn 101

New York 106, Orlando 95

Miami 115, Los Angeles Lakers 107

Los Angeles Clippers 106, San Antonio 101

Friday, December 23 Schedule (All Times Central)

Chicago at Charlotte, 6 p.m.

Los Angeles Lakers at Orlando, 6 p.m.

Brooklyn at Cleveland, 6:30 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Boston, 6:30 p.m.

Golden State at Detroit, 6:30 p.m.

Washington at Milwaukee, 7 p.m.

Houston at Memphis, 7 p.m.

Miami at New Orleans, 7 p.m.

Sacramento at Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Atlanta at Denver, 8 p.m.

Toronto at Utah, 8 p.m.

Philadelphia at Phoenix, 8 p.m.

San Antonio at Portland, 9 p.m.

Dallas at Los Angeles Clippers, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, December 24

No games scheduled

Sunday, December 25 Schedule (All Times Central)

Boston at New York, 11 a.m.

Golden State at Cleveland, 1:30 p.m.

Chicago at  San Antonio, 4 p.m.

Minnesota at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.

Los Angeles Clippers at Los Angeles Lakers, 9:30 p.m.

Monday, December 26 Schedule (All Times Central)

Milwaukee at Washington, 6 p.m.

Memphis at Orlando, 6 p.m.

Charlotte at Brooklyn, 6:30 p.m.

Cleveland at Detroit, 6:30 p.m.

Indiana at Chicago, 7 p.m.

Dallas at New Orleans, 7 p.m.

Phoenix at Houston, 7 p.m.

Atlanta at Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Toronto at Portland, 9 p.m.

Denver at Los Angeles Clippers, 9:30 p.m.

Philadelphia at Sacramento, 9:30 p.m.

Tuesday, December 27 Schedule (All Times Central)

Memphis at Boston, 6:30 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Miami, 6:30 p.m.

Houston at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.

Utah at Los Angeles Lakers, 9:30 p.m.