Final: Celtics 104, Pacers 96 -- C's on verge of sweep with big win

Jaylen Brown scored a team-high 23 points on 8-of-9 shooting while Kyrie Irving added a double-double with 19 points and 10 assists, helping the Celtics take a commanding 3-0 series lead with a 104-96 win at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Friday night. The visitors jumped all over the Pacers in the first quarter with a 41-point first quarter but they won the game with their defense in the second half, limiting the hosts to just 35 points after intermission after allowing them to shoot 57 percent from the field in the first half.

Jayson Tatum (17 points, 7 rebounds) and Al Horford (17 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists) chipped in with big shots in the second half, as Brad Stevens once again turned to his opening night starting five to close the game with a 14-9 run. The Pacers shot just 28 percent in the second half and 20 percent from 3-point range. Tyreke Evans led seven different Pacers in double figures with 19 points.

Boston will get a chance to close out the Pacers with a sweep on Sunday afternoon with a 1 p.m. start.

Second Quarter Notes

• Stevens rolls the dice early in the quarter by rolling with the four bench players and Horford. It pays off early before Kyrie returns but the C's hot shooting seems to lead to them letting down their guard on D.


• Tyreke Evans puts together his best quarter of the series, posting up 12 points. He's taken advantage of Morris whenever he's on him (Stevens needs to get away from that) and hits a couple of tough jumpers on top of it.


• C's did not force a turnover in the second quarter while coughing up five on their own.


• Transition defense has been an issue for this group all year long and that led to several easy looks for the Pacers in the second quarter after C's were caught ball watching after jumpers.


• Tough offensive quarter for Kyrie (1-of-5) as the ball movement came to a halt a little bit with him working in isolation spots.


• Thaddeus Young doing some nice work in the post on mismatches against Brown/Tatum, something he hasn't managed to do in the first two games.


• Just one shot attempt for Tatum and Brown after a hot first quarter for both. Would like to see that change in the second half if the C's want to improve their offense.


• Pacers 12-0 run midway through the frame erased the C's 15-point first quarter elad.

• Celtics offense comes out running on all cylinders out of the gate, with all five starters getting on the board in the first four minutes after a couple of early turnovers.


• Jayson Tatum has been doing nice work in the midrange against Bogdanovic, finding his sweet spot with pullups that have not been contested.


• Jaylen Brown with a pair of corner 3s of dishes from Baynes and Irving. He's already got more points in the first quarter (11) than he did in the past two games combined (8).


• Kyrie Irving facing a lot of double teams from the Pacers off the pick and roll but he's been quick to find the open man, dishing out four assists in the first eight minutes.


• Pacers struggling to get out to Celtics shooters, as Boston knocks down 8-of-10 from beyond the arc in the first quarter, the majority of which are on wide open 3s.


• C's with their highest-scoring quarter of the postseason with 41 points and most importantly, manage to add to the lead at the end of the frame with Morris and Rozier chipping in with 3s while Irving and Horford rest.

• Marcus Smart traveled with the team to Indiana and got up some light shooting on Friday morning. He's still at least two weeks from being reevaluated to be clear for basketball activities.


• The Celtics are 5-16 on the road over their last three postseasons, including a 1-7 mark last postseason. Three of those wins have come against the eighth-seeded Bulls in the 2017 postseason.


• Three tweaks to watch for heading into Game 3.


• Every member of the Pacers starting lineup besides Thaddeus Young is shooting over 40 percent from 3-point range at home this year. Indiana was 29-12 on the year at home, one of the best home records in the NBA.