Turner's triple-double leads Celtics over Pacers
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) - Evan Turner had 13 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds for his third triple-double of the season and the Boston Celtics led for the final 43 1/2 minutes in a 100-87 win over the Indiana Pacers Wednesday night.
Tyler Zeller and Kelly Olynyk each scored 19 points and Jae Crowder added 13 for the Celtics, who snapped a three-game home losing streak.
They are a half-game behind Miami and Brooklyn for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Olynyk played despite suffering a cut over his left eye when he was elbowed by teammate Shavlik Randolph during Boston's shootaround earlier Wednesday.
Olynyk, his eye black and blue and swollen, checked in with 1:56 remaining in the first quarter and went 7-of-10 from the floor in 22 minutes, including 3- of-4 on 3-pointers. He received stitches to close the small cut.
"I think he felt OK. It was more of a vision thing. How well could he see?" said Celtics coach Brad Stevens. "And he was saying he could see pretty well and the doctors felt good about him playing. ...
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I think it looked a little worse than maybe it felt, which is good."
George Hill scored 21 points to lead the Pacers, who lost for the ninth time in their last 11 games to remain on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Rodney Stuckey added 16 points in the loss, C.J. Miles scored 12 and David West had 10.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We scrapped and clawed and tried our best to make it a game," said Pacers coach Frank Vogel, "but they made more shots, they made more plays, they were quicker to the ball throughout the whole game ... and their style of play won out."
Zeller scored 11 points in the first quarter, including seven in a 9-1 flurry that gave the Celtics a seven-point lead.
The Pacers got as close as four in the second quarter before Zeller bookended a 9-0 burst with two buckets to push Boston's lead to 13.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Celtics, up 50-39 at halftime, took an 18-point lead 3 1/2 minutes into the third quarter on Turner's jumper. Hill's 3 capped a quick 10-0 run for the Pacers, who eventually trimmed their deficit to 68-62 going into the fourth quarter.
They never got closer than that in the fourth quarter, however, and Boston led by as many as 18 points down the stretch.
Game Notes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Avery Bradley had 11 points for the Celtics, who went 3-1 against the Pacers this season ... Indiana hosts Charlotte on Friday ... Boston remains at home to face Milwaukee on Friday.