Pacers rout Hornets 144-117, Celtics rally past Wizards in series play-ins

INDIANAPOLIS — Domantas Sabonis delivered. He found open teammates, cleaned up the glass and played solid defense.

The combination helped keep Indiana’s playoff hopes alive — for at least two more nights.

Sabonis had 14 points, 21 rebounds and nine assists, and the short-handed Pacers routed the Charlotte Hornets 144-117 in the Eastern Conference’s first play-in game Tuesday.

“He’s a point forward and sometimes when you’re a point guard you have to score more and sometimes you have to assist more and make the right plays,” coach Nate Bjorkgren said. “That’s what I thought he was doing tonight. He was passing, hitting cutters, making the right play. He wants to make the right play.”

Sabonis’ reaction to the Hornets’ attempt to clog the middle changed the game. Doug McDermott scored 16 of his 21 points in the first quarter as the Pacers started 7 of 11 from 3-point range — a decisive flurry that put Charlotte in a big hole.

The ninth-seeded Pacers snapped a franchise-worst nine-game losing streak in the postseason, earning their first win since blowing out Cleveland in Game 6 of a first-round series in April 2018. And they got it done without Caris LeVert, who was placed in the league’s health and safety protocol before the game.

Now Indiana needs one more win to secure a sixth consecutive playoff appearance. The Pacers visit No. 8 Washington on Thursday night.

“Everybody got going,” said Malcolm Brogdon, who scored 16 points in his first game since April 29. “It’s the best when all your teammates get to score and have fun. I thought we had fun tonight and that was the best part.”

It was no fun for the Hornets, who were led by Miles Bridges with 23 points. Former Indiana University star Cody Zeller had 17.

The Hornets finished the season with six straight losses. The difference Tuesday showed right from the start — playoff experience.

“They played like a veteran group,” Charlotte coach James Borrego said. “They played like a tougher group that had been here before. They weren’t fazed by the moment.”

CELTICS 118, WIZARDS 100

BOSTON — The Boston Celtics were one of the NBA’s worst teams over the final month of the regular season.

Thanks to Jayson Tatum, they’ll still have a chance to make a playoff run.

Tatum scored 32 of his 50 points in the second half, and the Celtics rallied to beat the Washington Wizards 118-100 in the play-in round on Tuesday night.

Kemba Walker added 29 points for Boston, which secured the seventh seed for the playoffs and a first-round matchup with second-seeded Brooklyn. That series opens on Saturday.

The Celtics struggled down the stretch, dropping 10 of their final 15 games of the season. Coach Brad Stevens said having to respond was in line with a season in which they had to fight through multiple players being unavailable because of injuries and stints in the league’s health and safety protocols.

“We’ve been through a lot, so we’re hardened in a lot of ways,” Stevens said. “We’ve been backs against the wall for most of the year. ... It takes a lot of effort, it takes a lot of togetherness and it takes staying together through tough times.”

Washington hosts Indiana, which rolled over Charlotte in Tuesday’s other play-in game, for the eighth seed on Thursday. The winner of that game will face Philadelphia, the top seed for the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Bradley Beal scored 22 points for the Wizards. Russell Westbrook added 20 points and 14 rebounds. Ish Smith had 17 points. But the Wizards struggled from deep all night long, going 3 for 21 from the 3-point line.

“We couldn’t find it. We couldn’t find the basket,” coach Scott Brooks said. “We haven’t shot well all year long but we’re not a 3-for-21 shooting team.”

The Celtics played without second-leading scorer Jaylen Brown, who had season-ending wrist surgery last week. He sat courtside to support his teammates, but they missed his offensive production in the first half while they struggled to get into a flow.

That changed in the third quarter. Boston opened the second half on a 22-4 run, opening a 74-58 lead.

Boston followed Tatum’s lead. The All-Star forward created space for open jumpers and drew contact in the lane. He was 17 of 17 from the free-throw line.

Washington closed to 91-84 in the fourth quarter, but Boston responded with a 15-6 run to push the lead to 106-88 with 5:32 to play.

“We just didn’t do what we were supposed to do,” Westbrook said.