Fans applaud Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) before the team’s NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) AP
BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum had 30 points and 12 rebounds in less than three quarters and the Boston Celtics used a blistering start to pull away from the Indiana Pacers, winning 155-104 on Wednesday night to remain unbeaten.
The 155 points was the second-most in a regular-season game in franchise history.
One game after blowing out the Wizards in Washington, the Celtics returned home and beat the Pacers even worse, opening a 10-point lead in the first three minutes, making it 20 in the second quarter, 30 in the third and 53 in the fourth.
Derrick White had 18 points and Jaylen Brown had 16 before the Boston starters went to the bench late in the third quarter, when the Celtics opened a 38-point lead. Sam Hauser scored 17 points and Payton Pritchard had 15 in extensive minutes off the bench.
T.J. McConnell scored 18 points for the Pacers, who were missing point guard Tyrese Halliburton after he turned his ankle when he stepped on Jalen Smith’s foot in Monday in a loss to Chicago. Smith (knee) also sat out Wednesday.
Tatum had four points and three rebounds in a 14-0 run in the opening minutes that turned a two-point deficit into an 18-6 lead. White hit a pair of 3-pointers at the end of the first, when Boston scored 18 of the last 25 points of the quarter to open a 44-27 lead.
Indiana never got closer than 14 points after that, spending the last 21 minutes trailing by 30 or more and falling behind by 50 with 4 1/2 minutes left in the game.
Notes: The Celtics shot 76% (16 of 21) from the floor in the first quarter. They made eight 3-pointers. … The Celtics had 75 points at halftime for the second straight game. According to the team, that’s a first for back-to-back games since at least the 1950-51 season. … Indiana was 5 for 37 from 3-point range and outrebounded 58-31.
UP NEXT
Pacers: Host Cleveland on Friday night in the NBA’s in-season tournament.
Celtics: At Brooklyn on Saturday.
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