Kelly Olynyk Sees Boston Celtics to Victory Over Pacers

The Boston Celtics have often got their best results this year when a complete team effort is put forth.

Tonight was one of those nights.

In what was at times a dominating performance, the Celtics defeated the Indiana Pacers 100-87 on Wednesday night.

Tyler Zeller and Kelly Olynyk each had 19 points to lead the Celtics while Evan Turner added another triple-double to his resume. Turner had 13 points, 10 rebounds, and dished out 12 assists, tying a season-high.

Olynyk, playing with a left eyelid laceration suffered in Wednesday’s shoot around after taking an elbow from Shavlik Randolph, scored ten of his points in the 4th quarter. This helped extend the Celtics lead from six to sixteen as the Celtics controlled the 4th.

Olynyk, with the injury severe enough that he was considered doubtful to play in this game, finished 7-10 from the field, included 3-4 from beyond the arc.

Zeller made eight of his nine shots as he combined with Brandon Bass to score 28 points and only miss one shot on the game.

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Thanks to this strong inside presence, the Celtics led 22-16 after the first quarter. Zeller repeatedly attacked the rim against Roy Hibbert, scoring 11 points in the first and forcing Hibbert to the bench with two early fouls.

The Celtics scored their nine baskets on eight assists. Their lead could have been larger had they not started settling for jump shots in the later part of the quarter.

The lead would grow as large as 13 in the second before the Celtics headed to the locker room leading 50-39.

This lead grew to 18 and it appeared as if the Celtics were going to run away with the victory. Instead, they once again went away from their inside game, committed five turnovers, and shot just 35% (7-20) in allowing the Pacers to hang around.

George Hill had nine points in the quarter for the Pacers, spurring a 14-3 run. The Pacers trailed 68-62 entering the fourth.

The Celtics dished out 29 assists. Isaiah Thomas struggled with his scoring again, netting only 8 points on 2-10 shooting. He did contribute six assists and four rebounds.

Jae Crowder added 13 points off the bench for the Celtics.

Hill led the Pacers, who fell two games behind the Celtics, with 21 points.

Boston remains a half a game back of the Brooklyn Nets for the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining.

The Celtics have a day off before hosting the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.