Celtics power past Pacers

Pierce, Boston pounce early, end Indiana's season

? The Boston Celtics put together a devastating quarter of basketball — one game later than they would have liked, but just in time to advance to the second round of the NBA playoffs.

Two days after being shut out in overtime, the Celtics opened an 18-point first-quarter lead and coasted to a 110-90 victory Thursday over the Indiana Pacers to win the best-of-seven series 4-2.

“We were just anxious to get out there,” said Paul Pierce, a former Kansas University standout who had 27 points with eight rebounds. “We said, ‘We should have ended the series the other day in Indiana.’ We wished we could have that one back.”

Antoine Walker scored 21 for Boston, which missed the playoffs for six consecutive years before making it to the Eastern Conference finals last year and losing to New Jersey. The Celtics will have to go through the Nets again: they beat Milwaukee 113-101 in Game 6 later Thursday to advance.

Eric Williams had 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench, and Walter McCarty had 13 points, sinking three-pointers on the first two shots of the game as the Celtics got off to a scorching start and never looked back.

Boston was 13-of-16 from the floor in the first quarter and made 14 consecutive shots in the first half to open a 23-point lead. They stretched it to 27 points in the third and never led by less than double digits after Tony Delk’s three-pointer made it 22-10 eight minutes into the game.

“It was awful good,” Celtics coach Jim O’Brien said of the first 12 minutes. “That was awful good basketball.”

Jermaine O’Neal had 25 points and 19 rebounds for Indiana before he was ejected with 3:25 left in the fourth quarter, along with Boston’s Mark Blount, for a minor altercation.

Indiana has now lost in the first round three times under coach Isiah Thomas, who got little in this series from All-Star Brad Miller and future Hall of Famer Reggie Miller.

Boston's Paul Pierce (34) beats Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal to the hoop. The Celtics eliminated the Pacers with a 110-90 victory Thursday in Boston.

“I’m disappointed because I let the other 11 guys down,” Reggie Miller said. “No question about it: It was 100 percent my fault.

“They believe in me so much, and to not come through is tough. I’m man enough to say, ‘I’ll put it on my shoulders.”‘

Reggie Miller scored eight points on 2-for-8 shooting in what might have been his last game for the Pacers. He shot only 28 percent from the field in the series.

Brad Miller shot 0-for-4 in Game 6 and had just two points and two rebounds in 14 minutes.

Ron Artest scored 20 before fouling out late in the fourth, chipping a tooth on the play.

Nets 113, Bucks 101

Milwaukee — Kenyon Martin scored 29 points and Jason Kidd had a triple-double as New Jersey, the reigning Eastern Conference champions, closed out the first-round series in six games.

Kidd had 22 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds as the Nets advanced to the second round, where they’ll play Boston beginning Monday night.

Gary Payton had 24 points for the Bucks, who trailed by as many as 22. They were down 88-70 heading into the fourth quarter, and the best they could do was cut their deficit in half — 99-90 on a basket by Payton with 5 1/2 minutes left.

Martin had 27 points in the first three quarters.