Celtics Outlast Pacers, Win 12th Straight

By Jeff Christenbury in Celtics, Featured ⋅ December 7, 2008 at 9:15pm ⋅ Post a comment

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Boston Celtics guard Ray Allen, center, shoots over Indiana Pacers center Rasho Nesterovic, left, of Slovenia, in the first half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

One of the two losses for the Celtics this year came at the hands of the Indiana Pacers on the event of their home opener. The Celtics arrived in Indiana at 4am for a game that night and the Pacers won. Sunday night the Celtics didn’t have any excuses but still needed a big shot by Paul Pierce and overtime to beat the Pacers 122-117.

Down by three with less than 30 seconds Ray Allen missed a three but Eddie House pulled down a tough rebound and found Pierce who hit a three to tie the game with just seven seconds left. Despite playing hard all night the overtime period proved why the Pacers are still leagues behind the Celtics as Indiana missed three free throws and turned the ball over.

Ray Allen led all scorers with 35 points – including seven three pointers – and made a huge three pointer in the OT period to put the Celtics up two possessions. Kevin Garnett also had a big night with 17 points and 20 rebounds. Marquis Daniels led the Pacers with 26 points and seven rebounds.

The Celtics have now won 12 straight, having not lost since November 14th, and sit atop the NBA with a 20-2 record. Ironically the Celtics were an identical 20-2 at this time last year before losing its 23rd game of the year on December 19th against Detroit. The Celts now have a few days off before traveling to Washington to face the Wizards.

Tags: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen