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BOSTON - After the Celtics watched promising rookie Marcus Smart go down with a frightening injury, Jeff Green preserved their victory with the biggest rebound of the night.Bostons lead was down to one when Avery Bradley missed a jumper with about 6 seconds remaining, plenty of time for the short-handed Pacers to take it the other way for a potential game-winner. All that was in Indianas way was Green, perfectly positioned in the lane to pluck the ball out of the air, draw a foul and sink two free throws that sealed a 101-98 win Friday night.That was a great play, Boston coach Brad Stevens said. He kept his position off of a cut, which allowed him to get the offence rebound.Green finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, and Jared Sullinger led Bostons fourth-quarter push by scoring 11 of his 17 points in the final period.It was Bostons first victory since beating Brooklyn in the season opener, but the celebration was tempered by Smarts injury.Smart was carted to the locker room after crashing to the floor on a hard foul as he drove to the basket with 11:07 left. Smart never got up and his teammates gathered around as medical personnel attended to the injury. Boston fans chanted Smarts name and gave the guard a standing ovation as he was taken off on a gurney with his left leg elevated.It was very difficult. You hate to see a teammate go down, especially when hes playing well, Green said. That game was for him. We had to win it for him.Stevens said he was waiting on X-rays to see whether Smart sprained his ankle or broke it. After taking the speedy Oklahoma State guard with the sixth overall pick in the draft, the Celtics were collectively hoping it was a sprain.You think about how he feels. Your team is clearly affected by it because they care about him, which is a good sign, Stevens said. And then you have to go play and thats hard.Kelly Olynyk scored 12 points and Bradley had 11 for Boston.The Pacers (1-5) dressed only 10 players and used nine of them while losing their fifth straight, matching Indianas worst start since opening 1-5 in 1996-97.Roy Hibbert had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers. Chris Copeland scored 17, Donald Sloan added 15 and Luis Scola finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.In the past we were able to close out games. Weve just got to learn how to do that again with a whole new group of people, Hibbert said. You kind of take that for granted sometimes — to be able to have closers out there. But I believe in this group of guys. We have to turn it around.Despite the depleted lineup, Indiana rallied from a 13-point deficit in the first half and held a 75-73 lead after three quarters. Boston opened the next period with a 9-2 run and made 10 of its first 14 shots in the fourth, taking the lead for good at 79-77 on Sullingers jumper.The Pacers stayed within range down the stretch and had a chance to pull ahead after Rajon Rondo missed a putback attempt with Boston up 97-96. Sloan drove for a layup that missed and Bradley pulled down the rebound with 19 seconds to play.After a timeout, Bradley missed his jumper but Green was there for the clutch rebound.___TIP-INSPacers: Indiana has six players out with injuries. C.J. Miles became the latest one when he was scratched before the game because of a migraine. Miles, Rodney Stuckey (sore left foot) and David West (sprained right ankle) were all on the active roster but not available to play.Celtics: After committing 28 turnovers Wednesday in a loss to Toronto, the Celtics were considerably better at protecting the ball. Boston had no turnovers in the first quarter, three in the first half and 12 in the game.___CENTURY MARKThe Celtics topped 100 points for the first time since beating Brooklyn 121-105 in their opener. Boston also had its best defensive game, holding an opponent under 100 points for the first time. The Celtics had allowed at least 104 points in their first four games.___PESKY PACERSBoston took a 55-42 lead with 2:50 left in the second quarter, but Indiana closed the half on a 10-0 run and scored the first seven points of the third period to take a 59-57 lead. Indiana led 75-73 entering the fourth, but could not hold off the Celtics down the stretch.___UP NEXTPacers: At home against Washington on Saturday night.Celtics: At the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night. . -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have released veteran guard Davin Joseph, a mainstay on their offensive line over the past eight seasons. . Sam, who joined the Cowboys in early September, has spent the entire season on the practice roster. . Donald Young lost in straight sets to Israels Dudi Sela 6-3, 6-0. Querrey, ranked No. 61, is the second-highest ranked American, ahead of Johnson (64). . But Josh Bailey scored the shootout winner to lead the Islanders to a 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens in a battle of the Eastern Conferences two worst teams. . The 10-year deal the league and players agreed to that ended the 2011 lockout gave either side the right to opt out after six years. With the league projecting financial growth, there has been speculation that players will take that option in three years, especially since a new national TV contract will be in place by then.Salt Lake City, UT (SportsNetwork.com) - As one of three games on Wednesday to feature a pair of nationally-ranked programs, the eighth-ranked Wichita State Shockers pay a visit to the 25th-ranked Utah Runnin Utes in non-conference action at the Huntsman Center. The undefeated Shockers are playing their first true road game of the season in this one, although they did take on Memphis on a neutral floor in South Dakota a few weeks back. The most recent outing for Wichita State came over the weekend against Tulsa, a game which the Shockers dominated at Koch Arena by a score of 75-55. All four victories for the Shockers have come by no less than 15 points. As for the Runnin Utes, they too have played almost exclusively in front of the hometown fans, en route to five wins in six tries. The team is riding a four-game win streak at the moment thanks to a 93-62 romp over Alabama State last Saturday. Winless in all four trips to face Utah in Salt Lake City over the years, the Shockers trail in the all-time series by a count of 6-1, although the teams have not met in more than two decades. This is the first game between two Top-25 programs in the Huntsman Center since 1999 when the 12th-ranked Utes took down the 21st-ranked Lobos of New Mexico. For the Shockers, Tulsa was a bit of a handful in the early going, but then the WSU defense went to work and held the visitors to a mere seven field goals in the first half, en route to a 40-22 lead at the break and eventually the 20-point victory. Fred VanVleet tallied 21 points and handed out nine assists for the hosts, followed by Ron Baker with 19 points on the strength of his 6- of-11 shooting behind the 3-point line. Darius Carter pitched in with another 14 pointts in only 18 minutes of action.dddddddddddd Through four contests the Shockers are lighting up opponents for 80.5 ppg, while at the same time limiting those foes to just 55.5 ppg, although much of that scoring differential can be traced back to a massive 105-57 thrashing of Newman a little over a week ago. Baker paces the program with 18.5 ppg, hitting his 3-point attempts at a 46.2 percent clip, followed by VanVleet who not only pitches in with 13.5 ppg, he is also responsible now for 20 assists and 13 steals. Carter (12.5 ppg) and Tekele Cotton (11.0 ppg) combine for 9.3 rpg which is a good sign, but their collective 12-of-24 showing at the free-throw line is not all that encouraging. The Utes had very little trouble with Alabama State, scoring the first points of the meeting and never looking back as they shot 53.3 percent from the field while limiting the Hornets to a mere 35.2 percent accuracy. Utah, which scored 30 points off turnovers and had only eight miscues of its own, did struggle at the free-throw line (19-of-32), but that mattered little in the 31-point decision. Delon Wright came away with 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists, Kenneth Ogbe 19 points as he converted 3-of-6 shots from beyond the arc. Dakarai Tucker pitched in with 12 points off the bench, while Jakob Poeltl and Dallin Bachynski accounted for 11 and 10 points, respectively. Wright is responsible for 15.3 ppg to pace the Utes, adding 29 assists and 11 steals, while Poeltl is in for another 12.0 ppg and 9.3 rpg. Forced to sit out a couple of games and listed as questionable for the outing on Wednesday is Jordan Loveridge with a sore hamstring, which means someone will have to make up for his 11.5 ppg. ' ' '
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