NBA: Jaylen Brown nets 31, Celtics take advantage of ice-cold Pacers

Jaylen Brown poured in a game-high 31 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Boston Celtics erased a 20-point deficit to defeat the visiting Indiana Pacers, 103-95, on Monday night.

Indiana, which led by as many as 20 early in the third quarter, was limited to just 34 points in the second half, including only 13 points in the fourth quarter.

Boston also received 19 points from Derrick White, while rookie Hugo Gonzalez came off the bench to collect a game-high 11 rebounds.

Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 25 points, and Andrew Nembhard added 20. Bennedict Mathurin contributed 16 points and nine rebounds for Indiana, which has now dropped five straight games.

Celtics forward Jordan Walsh did not play due to illness. The same illness forced him to miss the second half of Boston’s 112-96 win over Toronto on Saturday. Walsh is averaging 7.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game this season.

Indiana jumped out to a 30-18 lead after an Ethan Thompson 3-pointer with 4:25 remaining in the opening quarter. The shot capped a stretch in which the Pacers made eight consecutive 3-pointers. Boston responded with eight straight points, but Indiana still led 35-26 at the end of the first quarter.

The Pacers extended their advantage to 61-41, their largest lead of the first half, with 1:22 left in the second quarter. Indiana connected on 12 of 20 attempts from beyond the arc in the first half and carried a 61-43 lead into halftime.

Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla pulled his starters early in the third quarter, and the Celtics gradually cut into the deficit. An Anfernee Simons 3-pointer trimmed Indiana’s lead to 74-68 with 3:15 remaining in the period. Indiana held an 82-74 advantage after three quarters despite missing 11 of its 12 3-point attempts in the quarter.

The Celtics claimed their first lead of the second half when Brown converted a reverse layup to put Boston ahead 85-84 with 7:19 remaining. With the score tied at 91, Boston closed the game on a decisive 10-0 run, capped by a driving layup from White with 41.7 seconds left.

Indiana struggled mightily from long range in the second half, missing 19 of its 20 3-point attempts. Boston also dominated inside, outscoring the Pacers 52-28 in points in the paint.

The two teams will meet again on Friday in Indiana.

— Field Level Media/Reuters