Indianapolis ? Unlike the Indiana Pacers, the Boston Celtics plan to take advantage of what they’ve been given.

The Celtics have won twice after trailing by 16 points. Now, Boston has a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series entering Game 5 tonight in Indiana.

“After the game in the locker room, we said, ‘We have a choke hold on them now, let’s finish them,'” Celtics standout Paul Pierce explained. “I don’t see why not. We need to go to Indiana with the focus of putting the series away.”

History favors Boston, which rallied for a 102-92 victory Sunday in Game 4 of the opening-round Eastern Conference matchup.

Only six teams have come back from 3-1 deficits, only two since 1981.

The Pacers are 0-12 after losing the first game of a series. Even a victory in Game 5 would force a return to Boston, where Indiana is 0-4 this season, including 0-2 in the series.

“We have to take care of business here at home and try to take care of our mistakes,” Indiana’s Ron Mercer said.

Mistakes have cost the Pacers a chance at leading 3-1. They have blown leads by letting their offense become stagnant. There’s either too much one-on-one play or too much emphasis on getting the ball to Jermaine O’Neal.

Though O’Neal is averaging 27.5 points and 10.3 rebounds, the Pacers haven’t been patient enough to find other scoring options, especially when leads begin slipping away.

While Pierce and his 25.9 average, and Antoine Walker have carried most of Boston’s offensive load, Tony Delk and Walter McCarty have helped immensely. The Pacers have noticed.

“That’s what we have to do on our end,” Mercer said. “We have to share the ball and get everybody involved like we did at the beginning of the year.”

Nets-Bucks

East Rutherford, N.J. — Playoff results won’t determine whether future free agents Jason Kidd of New Jersey and Gary Payton of Milwaukee remain with their current teams.

The first-round series between the defending Eastern Conference champion Nets and the Bucks is tied 2-2, and the season will end this week for one of them.

Game 5 is tonight at the Continental Airlines Arena, and Game 6 is Thursday in Milwaukee. The Nets would play host to a Game 7 on Saturday, if necessary.

Kidd and Payton, two of the NBA’s best point guards, spoke briefly Monday about their upcoming free-agent status.

“Anything can happen in the playoffs,” Kidd said, asked why the outcome of the playoffs would not influence his decision on free agency. “There is no guarantee you’re going to make it back to the Finals.

“There is no guarantee you get out of the first round,” Kidd, 30, said. “If I was to hold that as a valuable part of making the decision, that’s not fair to my teammates. So I am not going to put that type of pressure on those guys.”

Spurs-Suns

San Antonio — The San Antonio Spurs’ youth is going to result in turnovers. Coach Gregg Popovich hopes it doesn’t get them eliminated from the playoffs.

The top-seeded Spurs blew an 11-point lead midway through the fourth quarter Sunday and lost Game 4 of their playoff series against Phoenix. The series is now tied at two games each going into tonight’s Game 5.

The Spurs’ lead evaporated when they turned the ball over five times in the game’s final minutes. They committed 25 turnovers.

“We played excellent defense, but we sort of shoot ourselves in the foot by giving the ball back so many times,” Popovich said.

Wolves-Lakers

Minneapolis — The Minnesota Timberwolves told Troy Hudson to be more aggressive after he scored a quiet 17 points in a lopsided Game 1 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The advice, from coach Flip Saunders and standout forward Kevin Garnett among others, has had quite an effect on the sixth-year point guard.

And on this series.

Hudson, after averaging a career-best 14.2 points during the regular season, has scored 92 in the past three games. He made five three-pointers in Minnesota’s 102-97 loss in Game 4 Sunday.

The series, tied at 2-2, resumes tonight in Minneapolis.

“It hasn’t overwhelmed me,” Hudson said after practice Monday.