Malcolm Brogdon scored 25 points and Domantas Sabonis turned the position secure in the final seconds when guest Indiana Pacers recorded a 108-107 victory over the Boston Celtics Sunday night.
Sabonis recorded 19 points and 10 rebounds and TJ Warren scored 17 goals as the Pacers won their third straight game to start the season. Doug McDermott scored 16 points, Justin Holiday 13 and Myles Turner scored 10 points, seven rebounds and five closing hits.
Boston’s Jayson Tatum had 25 points, 11 rebounds and five assists but added a 3-point off-mark with 1.8 seconds to play. Jaylen Brown scored 18 points, Payton Pritchard added 13 points, Robert Williams III had 12 points and four leads, and Marcus Smart added 11 points.
Turner’s basket with 2:17 left gave the Pacers a 105-103 advantage. Sabonis shared two free throws with 24.9 seconds left before Tatum made two free throws to pull Boston inside one with 18.2 seconds left.
Williams then stole the ball from Warren, leading to Smart’s position to give the Celtics a 107-106 lead with 11.8 seconds to play.
Sabonis moved for a layup with 8.4 seconds left and fouled but missed the free throw to leave Indiana ahead with a man. Tatum then lost with Brogdon defending him while the Celtics dropped the second in a row.
The Pacers tied on 51.1 percent of their shots from the field and hit 26.9 percent from a 3-point range.
Boston fired 50.6 percent from the field, including 9 of 23 from behind the arc.
Indiana scored 12 straight points at the start of the third quarter and 21 of the first 26 to turn a six-point half-time deficit into a 70-60 advantage with 6:45 remaining.
Brogdon’s 3-point lead made it 81-70 with 3:16 left in the quarter, but the Celtics finished strong to pull to 88-83 at the end of the season. The Pacers scored 39 points on a 15-of-20 shot in their quarter.
Tristan Thompson’s inner circle caught an 8-0 explosion to allow Boston to tie the score at 96 with 6:19 left in the fourth quarter before Indiana held on at the end.
–Field Media Level