Celtics’ 155 points vs. Pacers second-most in franchise history،
The last time the Boston Celtics scored 155 points in a regular season game, there was only one championship banner hanging from the rafters of old Boston Garden. Red Auerbach was still the coach. The Lakers were still in Minneapolis.
Wednesday night, Jayson Tatum helped them do it again.
“I think it’s more about not being bored,” said guard Jrue Holiday, one of eight Celtics to score in double figures in a 155-104 victory over the Indiana Pacers. “It’s not about being complacent and locking yourself into every match and every opponent.”
The 155 points are the most for the highly decorated franchise since the 1958-59 team that included Bob Cousy and young stars Bill Russell and Tommy Heinsohn beat Minneapolis 173-139. Tatum had 30 points and 12 rebounds before going out in the fourth quarter, and the Celtics used a hot start to pull away from the Pacers and remain undefeated.
“We have so many weapons,” guard Derrick White said. “You have so much talent around you that it makes the game easy.”
One game after knocking out the Wizards in Washington, the Celtics returned home and beat the Pacers even worse. White (18 points), Jaylen Brown (16), Holiday (15) and Kristaps Porzingis (13) helped Boston open a 10-point lead in the first three minutes, making it 20 in the second quarter, 30 in the third and like up to 53 points in the fourth.
Sam Hauser scored 17 points and Payton Pritchard had 15 for the Boston bench, which outscored Indiana 46-33 in the fourth quarter to complete the rout.
“We have everything, right? We’re in the paint. There’s a midrange and you have the 3. I feel like that threat makes us even harder to guard,” Holiday said. “I feel like we covered a lot of bases.”
The 51-point win is tied for the third-most in Celtics history, behind a 53-point win over the Kings in 2022 and a 56-point win at Chicago in 2018.
Boston is the second team since 1990 to start a season 4-0 while scoring 500 or more points in all four games, joining the 2018-19 Pelicans.
Information from ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press was used in this report.
