Final: Pacers 97, Celtics 82

A new night, but the same story: play well for the first 24 minutes, but then retract in the final 24.

The Celtics (4-10) dropped their sixth straight game tonight and their fifth straight by double-digits by falling to the Indiana Pacers (11-1), 97-82.

Boston held a 50-42 lead going into halftime, but as they did on Wednesday, they let the game slip away in a heartbeat.

Paul George, the early NBA MVP favorite in the eyes of many, had a game-high 27 points.

Indiana turned it on in the second half, outscoring Boston, 55-32.

Here's a recap:


The good:

* Jordan Crawford was phenomenal in the first half. He scored 19 points on 8-of-8 from the floor, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer to close the first half. The only problem was he only took 4 shots in the second half

* Boston's starting five had another solid night. They scored 65 of the team's 82 points and shot 56%.


The bad:

* The third quarter has been a nightmare for the Celtics in their last two games. Boston averages 22.6 points in the third quarter this season. Tonight, they scored eight. EIGHT. Indiana outscored Boston in the third frame, 25-8. The C's turned the ball over 11 times in the third as well.

* I know he doesn't want to be here, but Gerald Wallace has to actually act like he does. He's a professional. Tonight, he played very unprofessionally. Wallace was a minus -12 tonight in 22 minutes and had a team-high 5 turnovers. He made a number of poor decisions with the basketball and was very careless with his passes. He was in a big-time funk tonight.

* Indiana got so many second chances tonight. They held a decisive edge in offensive rebounds, 15-5. Whenever a shot went up, it seemed that at least two Pacers were in the paint waiting to grab the offensive board.

* Kelly Olynyk suffered a sprained right ankle in the first half and did not return. His status for Saturday's game in Atlanta is uncertain. Also, Jared Sullinger, who played tonight's game with the flu, is uncertain for tomorrow's game.

Boston is on the road tomorrow night as they take on the Atlanta Hawks. Tip-off is set for 7:30 pm.