Gordon Hayward on Friday night executed the game plan perfectly for Boston.
He made all nine of his shots. He made all three of his free throws. And he gave the Celtics the clear edge for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, too.
While Jason Tatum scored 22 points, Hayward became the first Celtics player since Kevin McHale in 1986 to make every shot and score at least 20 points as Boston pulled away from the Indiana Pacers 117-97 to break a tie for the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
The victory also gave Boston a 3-1 series edge to claim the first tiebreaker, essentially giving the Celtics a two-game lead with two remaining.
“I don’t know how you guys find all these stats. More important, we got the win,” said Hayward, who scored 21 points. “It was a great job by us, a big win.”
Hayward has done some of his best work in his hometown.
He won the 2008 high-school state championship on the Pacers’ home court.
Two years later, and just a few blocks away, he came within inches of making a half-court heave for Butler University to beat Duke University for a national title.
However, Hayward’s last appearance in Indy did not end well. Victor Oladipo stole his inbound pass at the buzzer to seal a 102-101 victory on Nov. 3 last year.
This time, with the Celtics trying to build momentum for the post-season, Boston had a 23-point advantage when Hayward was on the floor.
Boston have won three straight and five of six.
If the Pacers do not get their defense righted quickly, it could lead to an early exit — especially if they draw the Celtics in a best-of-seven series next weekend.
Myles Turner had 15 points and seven rebounds to lead Indiana. Domantas Sabonis and Tyreke Evans each scored 12 points for the Pacers, whose two-game winning streak ended.
However, the bigger problem was matching up with Hayward & Co. Despite allowing a league-low 104.1 points, Boston repeatedly shredded the Pacers defense.
After breaking to a 10-3 lead, Hayward helped fuel a 7-0 run to start the second quarter that gave Boston a 31-27 lead.
They never trailed again.
Boston scored the final four points of the first half to take a 58-47 lead and only allowed the Pacers to get as close as eight — on a three-pointer from Wesley Matthews to open the second half.
The Celtics sealed the win with a 12-3 third-quarter run that made it 86-68.
In other games on Friday, the San Antonio Spurs crushed the Washington Wizards 129-112, the Orlando Magic annihilated the Atlanta Hawks 149-113, the Charlotte Hornets edged the Toronto Raptors 113-111 and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Detroit Pistons 123-110.
The Houston Rockets routed the New York Knicks 120-96, the Minnesota Timberwolves outlasted the Miami Heat 111-109, the Utah Jazz defeated the Sacramento Kings 119-98 and the Memphis Grizzlies pounded the Dallas Mavericks 122-112.
The Phoenix Suns outlasted the New Orleans Pelicans 133-126 in overtime, the Denver Nuggets defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 119-110, the Los Angeles Lakers outgunned crosstown rivals the Clippers 122-117 and the Golden State Warriors triumphed over the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-114.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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