Celtics' Brad Stevens Says Kemba Walker 'Willed Us Back Into' Win vs. Pacers

Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens credited point guard Kemba Walker for helping the team overcome an early 14-point deficit in a 118-112 win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.

"I don't think we win the game without his will," Stevens told reporters. "I think that no matter how everyone is playing, when that thing was 18-4, he was the loudest voice. He willed us back into that thing. And now, we're back on our footing, [and] we have a little bit of confidence, which has been shot this week."

Walker recorded a game-high 32 points along with six assists, three rebounds and a steal in 33 minutes to help the Celtics snap a three-game losing streak.

Boston stormed back after those early struggles to lead by one after the first quarter. While the 30-year-old UConn product led the offensive charge, the C's also turned in a strong defensive effort, holding the Pacers to 39.3 percent shooting in the contest.

"I try to bring that aspect to the game every night, my leadership," Walker said. "I try to use my voice as much as possible to keep my teammates up when things are not going well. I know guys look to me in situations like that, and you know, just try to stay upbeat, just try to stay positive, and just bring that energy to the team."

It represented a much-needed win for the Celtics (16-17), who'd lost four of their previous five games amid a 7-14 stretch following their 8-3 start to the 2020-21 season.

They've battled injuries, with Walker missing the start of the campaign because of a knee injury and Marcus Smart sidelined by a calf strain, which is a factor in the lackluster record.

Now the focus is on trying to get on a hot streak to begin climbing the Eastern Conference standings, where they sit seventh with the All-Star break approaching at the end of next week.

Walker is confident the Celtics will get back trending in the right direction:

"We'll figure it out. That's on me. That's on Jaylen [Brown]. That's on Jayson [Tatum]. That's on Marcus. And then Tristan [Thompson] and Jeff [Teague] are gonna add on to that, as well. That's on the veteran guys, as well as Brad, too. We've got to keep it together. We can't let nobody go in any other direction. Even though things might not be going as well as we would like it at the moment, but things could change really fast, so the only way you can get out of struggles is by doing it together."

Boston is back in action Sunday night when it hosts the Washington Wizards (12-18) at TD Garden.