1-30 Indiana 103 Boston 96

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Indiana 103 Boston 96

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Many of the fans started heading toward the exits midway through the fourth quarter, assuming, just like the Indiana Pacers, that the game against the Boston Celtics was over and the final few minutes would be used to clear the bench.

But the Pacers decided that wasn't a good idea.

The Pacers gave the fans a display of poor free throw shooting. They were careless with the ball. And they played a game of matador defense.

The Pacers made the game way more interesting than it should have been before finally pulling out a 103-96 victory at Conseco Fieldhouse on Tuesday night.

Star

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Delonte West remained in the locker room during the second half of the Celtics' 103-96 loss to the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse, suffering from flu-like symptoms. He missed shootaround yesterday morning and could play only 12 minutes last night. He believes he will be able to play tonight against the Lakers.

Globe

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Al Jefferson did not wait for the end of the question. From the moment the final buzzer sounded last night and the Celtics' 103-96 loss to the Pacers entered the books -- stretching Boston's losing streak to 12 games -- Jefferson knew the query was coming.

Was he aware that the Celtics could tie the franchise record with a 13th loss tonight against the Lakers at home?

Cutting off a reporter, Jefferson said, "I'm aware of that."

Globe

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INDIANAPOLIS - Delonte West, in addition to missing the second half of last night’s game with a horrid case of the flu, apparently provided the Pacers with some inadvertent blackboard material before last night’s 103-96 Celtics [team stats] loss.

West, who said in a published report yesterday that the Celts were “going to win in Indy” and break an 11-game losing streak, might want to know Pacers coach Rick Carlisle read the comments to his team before the game.

“When you have a team that has struggled as much as they have struggled, and they don’t have Paul Pierce [stats], and they’re just getting Wally (Szczerbiak) back, they’re kind of in a transition,” said Pacers center Jermaine O’Neal. “So to have players like Delonte come in and guarantee wins is a little bit of a motivator for us to go out and play those guys.

Herald

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INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 30 (AP)-- The Boston Celtics went to Indiana guaranteeing their three-week losing streak would end and went home with more disappointment.

The Pacers beat the Celtics 103-96 on Tuesday night to give Boston its 12th straight loss.

Boston guard Delonte West made the guarantee in a story published Tuesday in the Boston Globe and Indiana forward Jermaine O'Neal took exception.

West started and played only 12 minutes because of flu-like symptons.

NBA