Pacers barely hold off short-handed Celtics in OT

A team adding players, another subtracting them. And it almost didn't add up.

The Boston Celtics, who before Friday's game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse traded one player and prepared to deal another, took the Indiana Pacers to the end of regulation and beyond before falling 107-103.

For the Pacers, who benefitted from the return of Roy Hibbert from Wednesday's left ankle sprain, regaining control of a game they once led by 13 points was a relief, especially after letting the Los Angeles Lakers get away with one earlier in the week.

Indiana (15-23) also is in a stretch of five games against teams with worse records, including Saturday night's at 6-29 Philadelphia. These are must-wins in a bid to salvage the season and reach the playoffs.

"We talked about that," Pacers forward David West said of the urgency. "We wanted to keep up the momentum that we built. We felt we were playing decent basketball on that West Coast trip (that ended 2-2). We wanted to sort of coming in and play with the effort that we'd been playing with."

The Pacers played hard enough; the Celtics appeared to play just a touch harder, especially in the fourth quarter. Brad Stevens' team kept chipping away at the deficit, briefly taking the lead before using Avery Bradley's left-corner 3-pointer – a play used by Stevens at Butler – to tie the game with 4.3 seconds left in regulation.

Boston led briefly in overtime, too, but succumbed as West scored five points, including a pair of key free throws. West played the last part of the game with a right hand throbbing from contact it took.

Pacers coach Frank Vogel said he considered fouling the Celtics before Bradley's big shot, but a lack of time outs meant his team would have had to inbound the ball under its own basket, and he didn't want that.

"We opted to play solid defense – stay solid, stay on our guys," Vogel said. "We got a good contest on the 3, and he made a tough shot."

With the sellout crowd of 18,165 buzzing from West's missed 3 at the buzzer, Vogel called for some calm in the huddle.

"I made sure our guys removed any second-guessing (by saying), 'OK, we move on,'" he said. "We were the better team and if you're the better team you welcome five more minutes."

After scoring 11 points in the first quarter, Hibbert finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots. He said he wasn't sure if he could have played the day prior, but it probably wasn't a coincidence that he hurt the smaller Celtics in their Nov. 7 meeting, too (22 points, 11 rebounds).

Also returning to the Pacers' lineup was guard Rodney Stuckey, who had missed Wednesday's game at Golden State with a strained right groin.

The Celtics confirmed the trade of post player Brandan Wright to Phoenix just prior to tipoff, then held out leading scorer Jeff Green in anticipation of a deal with Memphis. Stevens' team certainly didn't look the part of a reeling team. Despite the double-figure deficits, Boston never seemed out of the game.

"We played with a lot of purpose, especially on the defensive end," said Stevens, whose team seemed to get a good look on each offensive possession but struggled to make a shot in the first three quarters. "It's too bad we didn't get that (win) because we had a chance to get it."

Stevens, a Zionsville native, fell to 0-6 against his hometown team.

Kelly Olynyk missed a 3-pointer with 5.9 seconds left that could have tied the game at 106.

Bradley led Boston with 23 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter and overtime. Brandon Bass had 17.

Six Pacers reached double figures, with C.J. Miles scoring 17 on the strength of four 3-pointers. C.J. Watson had 15, including the game-clinching free throw with 3 seconds left.

Vogel said reserve center Ian Mahinmi, who has been battling a shoulder injury, was available for the game, but he was not used due to his recent inactivity.

The Celtics remain a team in transition. Less than a month ago they acquired Wright, a 6-10 rim protector, as part of the Rajon Rondo swap with Dallas. Now, he and his $5.5 million annual commitment are gone. Boston received a future conditional first-round selection (originally Minnesota's) and a trade exception.

Green had been the subject of trade rumors for days and when he was held out of the lineup the gig was up. ESPN.com reported Green will soon play for the Grizzlies in exchange for journeyman Tayshaun Prince. If the trade is completed, Boston is said to receive another future first-round pick and the right to dump Prince's expiring $7.7 million contract at season's end.

That's the definition of a fire sale in Stevens' second of six years as coach. The Pacers are more in the business of adding wood to their fire. We'll see which burns brighter as the season rolls on.

Follow Star reporter Curt Cavin on Twitter: @curtcavin.

