Celtics build 23-point lead in 1st half, coast past Pacers

Jaylen Brown had 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists to lead the Boston Celtics to a 119-104 victory over the visiting Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night.

Brown was 11 of 22 from the field, but also committed a game-high five turnovers. Sam Hauser connected on 5 of his 7 3-point attempts and added 17 points for the Celtics, who received 17 points and nine rebounds from Neemias Queta.

Boston, which has won three of four, made 12 of its 31 3-point attempts and shot 47.7% overall (42 of 88).

Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 32 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Siakam has scored at least 20 points in five straight games and in 12 of his last 13 contests.

Jarace Walker (19) and Johnny Furphy (10) were the only other Pacers who scored in double figures. Indiana was 37 of 94 from the field (39.4%), including 12 of 45 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Indiana's Aaron Nesmith missed each of his four 3-point attempts and was limited to six points. Nesmith is 2 for 26 from 3-point territory in his last four games.

Indiana, which has lost three in a row and four of five, fell to 2-19 in road games.

The game was tied 18-all before Boston closed the first quarter on a 12-2 run and led 30-20 after 12 minutes.

A Queta tip-in capped a 15-0 run that gave Boston a 55-32 lead with 3:54 remaining in the second quarter. The Celtics led 66-46 at halftime.

Boston made 8 of 17 3-point attempts in the first half, when the Pacers shot 38.3% from the field (18 of 47).

A 16-4 spurt by the Pacers trimmed Boston's lead to 83-72 with 2:46 left in the third, and a Ben Sheppard 3-pointer pulled Indiana with nine, 85-76, with 1:42 remaining in the third. Boston had a 91-78 advantage entering the final quarter.

A Brown layup ended an 8-0 run that pushed Boston's lead to 107-88 with 6:07 to play.

--Field Level Media