By ASSOCIATED PRESS
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 30 points and the Boston Celtics made 20 3-pointers in a 140-122 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night, Dec. 26.
The All-NBA forward, who is averaging 29.4 points, shot 13 of 20 from the field and made two 3-pointers. Payton Pritchard added 29 points, making three 3s, and grabbed nine rebounds.
The Celtics were 20 of 39 from beyond the arc compared to the Pacers’ 18 of 44. Reserve Sam Hauser was 7 for 8 behind the arc and scored 23 points, while Derrick White added 21 points with three 3s.
The Celtics (19-11), winners of four in a row and back-to-back games against Indiana, were starting a five-game road trip.
Andrew Nembhard led the Pacers (6-25) with 18 points and four 3s.
The Celtics trailed by 15 midway through the first quarter, but methodically chipped away at the deficit, then pulled away with six 3-pointers in a 47-point second quarter for a 75-61 halftime lead.
Meanwhile, Norman Powell had 25 points, Pelle Larsson scored a career-high 21 and the struggling Miami Heat handed the Atlanta Hawks their fifth straight loss, 126-111 .
Kel’el Ware had 16 points and 13 rebounds in place of Bam Adebayo, who missed the game with a back injury. Andrew Wiggins had 18 points and Jamie Jaquez Jr. had 16 points off the bench.
The Heat had lost eight of nine games entering Friday, but got back over .500 at 16-15. Tyler Herro missed his eighth straight game with a toe injury. Larsson started after missing five games with a sprained left ankle.
Trae Young led the Hawks with 30 points and he also had seven assists. Jalen Johnson added 24 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.
Wiggins turned in one of the plays of the game in the fourth quarter. He saved the ball along the sideline after stealing an inbounds pass, got a return pass and hit a running reverse layup to stretch Miami’s lead to 102-87 with 9:05 to play. A 9-0 run capped by an over-the-head layup by Powell later in the quarter pushed the lead to 17.
The Heat outrebounded the Hawks 52-42 and forced 21 turnovers while committing 12. That resulted in 19 more field goal attempts for Miami.
The Hawks fell to 5-10 at home and are the only team in the NBA with a winning record on the road (10-7) and a losing record at home.
Dyson Daniels returned for Atlanta after missing one game with right hip inflammation. He had eight points and six rebounds.
