Celtics Win, Even Series

After watching the Boston Celtics wrestle inside and questioning their ability to fight, Doc Rivers changed tactics. He used a small lineup to get the Indiana Pacers out of sync.

Paul Pierce finished with 30 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and five blocked shots, and Ricky Davis broke out of a shooting slump with 15 points to lead the Celtics to a 110-79 rout of the Pacers in Game 4 on Saturday, tying the first-round series.

“When we play good defense, we’re a good basketball team, no doubt about it,” Rivers said. “We pressured the ball and denied catches all game.”

It was just what the Celtics needed with the odds stacked against them.

Playing on the road without suspended Antoine Walker, facing the possibility of going two games down in the best-of-seven series and with Indiana fans waving their white towels in unison, the Celtics refused to surrender.

Instead, they return to Boston for Game 5 having played one of their best games of the season.

Boston shot 56.8% from the field, 53.8% from three-point range, limited the Pacers to an NBA playoff record low of 26.9% from the field and handed Indiana its worst playoff loss since it joined the NBA in the 1976-77 season.

And it was every bit as ugly as the scoreboard made it appear. Only three Pacers reached double figures: Stephen Jackson with 24 points, Reggie Miller with 12 and James Jones with 11.

All five Boston starters scored at least 11 points, led by Pierce, who scored 23 points in the first half.

But the Celtics’ quick defenders dominated the game.

“Their sheer athleticism really got us,” Pacer Coach Rick Carlisle said. “If they had played with Walker, it may have been worse, who knows.”