Boston ? While one former Kansas University standout struggled, another one thrived for the Boston Celtics in a 102-82 rout of the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night.

Boston’s aggressive defense produced 14 steals and the Celtics were able to find the open man so much that six players scored in double figures. They rolled over Indiana even though former Jayhawk Paul Pierce, their top scorer during the regular season, didn’t score his first field goal until 7:56 remained in the game.

“Tonight was all about our bench,” Pierce said. “That’s the great thing about our team. It wasn’t called upon for me to score 25 or 30 points to win.”

With Indiana’s defense focusing on Pierce, starter Raef LaFrentz, another ex-Jayhawk, led Boston with 21 points and hit all five of his three-pointers to break the team playoff record of four set by Scott Wedman in Game 1 of the 1985 NBA Finals won by the Los Angeles Lakers.

“It’s my role,” said LaFrentz, who missed most of last season and the playoffs because of a knee injury. “It was just rewarding to be there.”

Boston’s young backups made Indiana look old and ordinary, sparked the Celtics by turning a two-point deficit after one quarter into a 15-point lead six minutes later and began 39-year-old Reggie Miller’s final playoff season with a blowout.

“We were beaten, and we were beaten bad,” said Jermaine O’Neal, who scored just seven points in only his fourth game after missing 22 because of a shoulder injury. “It’s a very humbling situation for everyone on the team.”

Boston will play host to Game 2 on Monday night in the best-of-seven rematch of its first-round series the past two years.

Rockets 98, Mavericks 86

Dallas — Tracy McGrady scored the majority of his 34 points during the first three quarters to help Houston build a big lead, then Mike James and Jon Barry helped protect the shrinking margin in the final period, preserving a victory over Dallas in Game 1 of the first-round series. James finished with 16 points, and Barry had eight. Nowitzki led Dallas with 21.

Pistons 106, 76ers 85

Auburn Hills, Mich. — Rasheed Wallace scored 24 of his 29 points in the second half, helping the defending NBA champion Pistons pull away from the 76ers. Allen Iverson had 30 points and 10 assists, and Chris Webber scored 27 points, but that wasn’t nearly enough for the seventh-seeded Sixers.

Sonics 87, Kings 82

Seattle — Ray Allen scored 28 points to go with 10 rebounds and three assists as Seattle opened its series with Sacramento with a narrow victory. Peja Stojakovic scored 24 points, and Cuttino Mobley added 22 for the Kings, who sliced a 55-40 halftime deficit to one point in the final minute.