Celtics ride strong second-half showing to Game 1 victory

After struggling through the first half, the Celtics dominated the Indiana Pacers the rest of the way for an 84-74 victory on Sunday afternoon.

BOSTON – They were a confounding team during the regular season, bouncing back and forth between bad and good stretches on a number of occasions.

It was only fitting that the Celtics opened the playoffs by following that familiar pattern in Game 1 on Sunday afternoon.

They were bad during an ugly first half against the Indiana Pacers, scoring only 38 points on 33 percent shooting with 10 turnovers.

And then the Celtics were very good during the second half, particularly the third quarter, when the defense kicked in and the Pacers were limited to just 8 third-quarter points. The Pacers made just 9 of 38 shots in the second half, en route to a 29 point performance.

It wasn’t a pretty beginning, but the Celtics took a 1-0 series lead over the Pacers with an 84-74 victory at the TD Garden. That represents the lowest postseason point total by a Celtics opponent since the Orlando Magic were held to 71 points on May 22, 2010.

“The bottom line, that’s the only thing that matters,’’ said Gordon Hayward after contributing 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists in his first playoff game with the Celtics. “Throw everything else out the window. You’re trying to get wins, trying to make winning plays to help our team move on.’’

After trailing, 45-38, at the break, the Celtics dominated the third quarter to take control away from the Pacers. They opened the second half on a 22-3 run as the Pacers missed 11 straight shots and didn’t get a field goal until Al Horford was called for goaltending on a Cory Joseph drive with 3:28 left in the third quarter.

The Pacers wound up going 2 for 19 in those 12 minutes and were down, 64-53, entering the fourth quarter when the Celtics’ advantage grew to 22 with the continued dominance at the defensive end. Indiana scored the game’s final 12 points in the last 3:20 to make the final look respectable.

It was quite the turnaround from one half to the other for the Celtics, who will seek a 2-0 series lead when they face the Pacers on Wednesday night.

“Not really a big discussion (at halftime),’’ said Kyrie Irving, who had 20 points, seven assist and five rebounds in his Celtics’ playoff debut. “I think that we understand the position we’re in. It’s no time to really (linger) on the mistakes that happened in the first half. At this point, it’s really just next thing.

“What’s the next thing we can impact the game? What’s the next thing that we’ve got to do to be more locked in? When you have that type of mentality, it’s no time to be fixated on all the mistakes. We know offensively, that probably was the worst half we’ve played all season.

To be in a dogfight like that, I’ve been in a few playoff games where I’ve been on both ends, that’s where the really gritty individuals make their mark and the focus level on the game plan comes to the ultimate level and we depend on each other that much more.’’

Marcus Morris came off the bench to get the Celtics going in the first quarter, scoring 12 of his 20 points. Jayson Tatum (15) and Horford (10 points, 11 rebounds) were also in double figures. Terry Rozier contributed a long 3-pointer just before the buzzer to end the third quarter for a 64-53 lead.

The offense had problems early getting inside against the Pacers and the ineffective 3-point shooting hurt the Celtics, but the defense frustrated Indiana after halftime.

“We were really connected and we were really playing hard and we were really flying around,’’ said coach Brad Stevens, who praised the Pacers defense as well. "This is not a series for the timid. We’ve know that going in.

“This is a heck of a team with a heck of a coach and the minute you let your foot off the gas or you don’t play the right way, you’re going to get beat.’’

The Celtics kept their foot on the gas in the second half, though, scoring the first 11 points and never letting up to turn a poor opening act into a Game 1 victory.

“Experience first-hand is always the best teacher,’’ said Irving. “You come out and don’t shoot particularly well. You come in at halftime (down seven). Throughout the regular season, we’ve been in positions like that. We just had to turn that page. It’s the next page mentality. It’s a series.

“Any time in the game, runs happen. We know how physical they’re going to be. We know they’re going to reach down, slap down. They have incredible defenders on their team. They control the paint. We just have to do the right things. Getting all those jitters out for the first game, I’m always happy to just get the feel-out game out of the way.’’

There is much improvement needed from the Celtics going forward, but at least they showed the capability of playing high caliber defense to turn a game around.

“We have to be better on the offensive end, no doubt,’’ said Hayward. “But if we guard like that, we give ourselves a chance.’’

Jim Fenton may be reached at jfenton@enterprisenews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFenton_ent.