Celtics vs. Pacers: Things to Take Away from Boston Celtics Win over the Pacers

The Boston Celtics continued their great play tonight, beating the Indiana Pacers, 94-87. This win came after losing to the Pacers twice before this season in two of the Celtics' worst performances in the young season.

With this win, the Celtics return to .500 on the season at 9-9 and have moved up to second place in the Atlantic Division. Talks of breaking up the Big Three will also diminish even more with yet another win.

Four-Game Winning Streak

The Celtics got off to a shaky start of the season to say the least. However, in the last four games, they have managed to turn things around and, with this win, have extended their winning streak to four games. Earlier in the season, the Celtics had a four-game winning streak, but in this streak they only beat the Wizards twice, the Pistons and the Nets.

In this current winning streak, the Celtics have beaten the Magic twice and now the Pacers, two very good playoff teams. This winning streak is a very, very good sign for the Celtics.

The Captain Continues to Produce

After coming back from a heel injury, Paul Pierce struggled to play at a high level and part of it was due to his lack of conditioning. Pierce appears to have his conditioning back and is playing like the Paul Pierce of old once again.

In the past four wins, two things have been consistent on the stat sheet. First, Pierce has led every game in scoring and second, and perhaps even more surprising, is that Pierce has led every game in assists as well.

In tonight's game, he also led the game in rebounds with 10 and had a near triple-double, scoring 28 points and dishing out eight assists as well. Over the past four games, he is averaging 26 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. If he can continue this great play, the Celtics will continue to win.

Wilcox Finally Plays Well

Chris Wilcox was one of the few big free agent signings by the Boston Celtics this offseason. However, he has failed to measure up to expectations. Part of his poor play was due to his shoulder injury, but now that he is healthy again, he can be held to those preseason expectations again.

In tonight's game, he exceeded expectations for the first time in his young career as a Celtic. He scored 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting and pulled down six boards. Considering he had only scored 15 points all season, this near doubling of his season total was impressive. If he can play like this on a consistent basis, the Celtics will get the frontcourt experience and talent that they expected in the offseason.

Leading the Way with Defense

Defense has been the mainstay of the Celtics since acquiring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in 2007. This season it is no different. And with a less potent offense than in years past, defense has become even more important for the Celtics. The win tonight was another truly great defensive effort by the Celtics. They held the Pacers to just 87 points on only 35 percent shooting from the field and wait for it, five percent (1-of-19) shooting from three!

In every win this season, the Celtics have held their opponent under 100 points. And in this current winning streak, the Celtics are letting up an average of just 80 points a game. That is championship defense there and hopefully they will be able to keep it up.

Injuries Are No Problem for the Celtics

Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Jermaine O'Neal and Keyon Dooling all sat out tonight's game due to injuries. But clearly, these injuries had minimal effect on the Celtics play. In fact, Rondo has sat out every game of the current winning streak and Ray Allen has sat out three of the last four wins. Other injuries have occurred in the past four games, none of which have turned out to be consequential.

In all of these games, amid all of these injuries, the Celtics have still managed to play their best basketball of the season. This raises the question, if the Celtics can play this well without three of their starting five, how well can they play with a fully intact roster?