Granger leads Pacers past Boston's Big 3, 87-74

BOSTON (AP) - Danny Granger had 15 points and Roy Hibbert scored 11 with 12 rebounds Friday night to lead the Indiana Pacers to an 87-74 victory over the Boston Celtics.

It was Indiana's first win in Boston since 2007.

Ray Allen returned after missing one game with an illness and scored 23 points for the Celtics, who for the first time this season lost a game with their starting lineup intact. Paul Pierce, who missed the first three games — all losses — scored 10 points on 3-for-17 shooting as Boston shot just 39 percent.

The Pacers were coming off a 35-point loss to the Miami Heat in which Granger shot 2 for 13.

The Celtics scored just 25 points in the first half, tying a franchise low. Boston shot 26.5 percent in the half, making the Pacers' 33.3 percent seem good by comparison. But while the rest of the Celtics managed to snap out of it, Pierce continued to struggle.

The Pacers scored the last eight points of the first half to open a 33-25 lead. Boston cut it to two points with 8 minutes left in a more wide-open third period, when both teams scored 30.

But it was back to 63-53 right before the final break, and the Celtics got within five points on Allen's 3-pointer early in the fourth. Boston, however, continued to turn the ball over and miss shots down the stretch.

Notes: Boston C Jermaine O'Neal left briefly in the third quarter to bulk up his padding. ... Pacers F David West was booed for choosing Indiana over Boston in the shortened free-agency period following the lockout. ... Pacers F-C Jeff Foster played his first game of the season after missing the first six with a sore lower back.