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Indiana Pacers' Lance Stephenson (1) celebrates with the fans following an assist during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2013, in Indianapolis. Indiana defeated Boston 106-79.

(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

INDIANAPOLIS – The game was already out of hand, a most one-sided affair.

Because it’s Christmas time, I’ll say the Boston Celtics were getting slapped with a stocking full of coal. One could also say they were strapped to a Christmas tree and beaten with the Xbox Ones they all received in their lockers Saturday.

Or maybe Santa Claus, looking quite a bit like Paul George, came sliding down the chimney to repeatedly bash the Celtics with his bag of toys. The point: during a 106-79 thrashing, the Celtics were thoroughly outclassed by the Indiana Pacers.

Still, Pacers guard Lance Stephenson stayed in the game to complete a triple-double. That’s no sin, at least by my reckoning. Earlier in the season, the Celtics did the same with Jordan Crawford. Triple-doubles are rare achievements, so coaches sometimes let their players chase after them. The Celtics would have been hypocrites to complain much about Stephenson taking eight shots in the fourth quarter just to hit two, finally reaching double-figures in scoring with 4:44 left.

But Jeff Green did not like Stephenson’s reactions to nice shots. After dropping Courtney Lee with a crossover and hitting a long jumper, Stephenson (12 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) looked like he was practicing the air hula-hoop, or maybe he was just experimenting with the lower-body Walker Wiggle:

Stephenson, who was great throughout the game, especially as a playmaker, celebrated in a similar fashion after reaching his triple-double.

“Of course,” Green replied when asked if that upset him. “That’s not basketball. He made great plays, but at the end of the day, make a great play and get back at the other end. But it is what it is. We’ll see them again.”

Stephenson said he figured he will hear from head coach Frank Vogel about the celebrations.

“It just came with the flow of the game,” Stephenson said. “I was trying to entertain the crowd. I was so much into the game, it just came out naturally. I didn't mean to do it, it just came with the flow of the game.”

He added: “If it comes out in the flow of the game, it happens. I don't go into the game saying, ‘When I make this shot I'm going to do this dance.’ It just comes out. I'm surprised when it happens. When I make a shot, sometimes I'm surprised. I'm like, ‘Wow.’ So I'm like congratulating myself.”

Gerald Wallace was asked about the dance, too.

“That’s between him,” Wallace said. “I ain’t got nothing to do with that.”