INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—The Indiana Pacers beat Oklahoma City on Friday night, proving that they indeed are one of the league’s up-and-coming teams. A day later, the Boston Celtics showed the Pacers what the next level looks like. Paul Pierce scored 24 points to help the Celtics beat Indiana 86-72 on Saturday night. The veteran-laden Celtics did what winning playoff teams do. They controlled the tempo, played stifling defense and made timely shots all night. Indiana matched its lowest point total of the season. INDIANAPOLIS, IN - APRIL 7: P… The Associated Press - Apr 7, 9:42 pm EDT 1 of 12Bos-Ind Gallery “I thought defensively, we were sensational tonight,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said. “In a game where shots are not going in and you can still win the game, that means you can trust your defense on nights that it (the offense) doesn’t work.” Ray Allen added 19 points, Kevin Garnett scored 15 and Rajon Rondo had 12 assists for the Celtics. Allen came off the bench for just the second time this season. He made 5 of 11 3-pointers, including 3 of 5 in the second half. He had missed six games with an ankle injury and has been back for just three games. “We got him good shots and I told him, it’s still going to take a couple of games,” Rivers said. “He’s still trying to get his legs back. I thought in the second half, you could see he had a breakthrough.” Boston also got a key contribution from Greg Stiemsma, a rookie from Wisconsin who has received increased minutes because Jermaine O’Neal has been out after left wrist surgery. Stiemsma had 10 points, a season-high nine rebounds and five blocks. Much of his damage came against All-Star center Roy Hibbert. “Greg came in and did a terrific job,” Rivers said. “Guarding Hibbert is no fun. He’s just a big man and he’s physical and I thought he did a sensational job.” Boston snapped a two-game skid and remained ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers at the top of the Atlantic Division. “They’re playing at a very, very high level,” Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. “They have a championship coach and a championship core. They know how to get it done.” Danny Granger scored 20 points, David West had 16 and Hibbert added nine points and 17 rebounds for Indiana. The Pacers had won four in a row and had scored more than 100 points in five consecutive games. Indiana shot 35 percent from the field, made just 5 of 22 3-pointers and committed 19 turnovers. “This is just a bump in the road for us, and we must put it behind us and get ready for the next game,” Granger said. “We had several shots that could have dropped, but they didn’t.” Indiana had the young legs and the depth, but looked tired against the older Celtics. It was the Pacers’ fourth game in five nights, and it finally caught up with them. “We knew coming into the season the lockout would have an impact on games,” Vogel said. “You can’t overreact or underreact in any situation.” Boston took a 22-19 lead, then held the Pacers scoreless for the next 7:23 to take a 36-19 lead. Boston led 43-33 at halftime. The Pacers shot just 3 for 19 in the second quarter, but hung tough because they only allowed Boston to shoot 30 percent. The Pacers just missed their low half of the season, which was 29 points in the second half against Chicago on March 5. Stiemsma had 10 points, five rebounds and five blocks in the first half. “Here in Indiana, they have played us pretty well,” Rondo said. “They have beaten us pretty badly. We wanted to come out and establish the pace from the jump defensively, and the offense is going to come.” In the third quarter, Pierce hit a 3-pointer, then a pull-up jumper to extend Boston’s lead to 15 points. Granger made a 3-pointer and Leandro Barbosa made a layup to cut Boston’s lead to 55-48, but the Celtics held on and led 59-51 at the end of the quarter. Pierce scored 13 points in the third period. Boston led by double digits for most of the fourth quarter. Indiana tried to make a late surge, and a 3-pointer by Granger cut Boston’s lead to 74-65. Allen hit a 3-pointer at the other end a few seconds later to stop Indiana’s momentum. “Every time we made a run, it was a Ray Allen 3 or a Paul Pierce bucket,” Vogel said. — — NOTES: Boston G/F Mickael Pietrus sat out with a head injury. … Indiana wore its alternate gold jerseys. … Rondo was issued a flagrant foul in the second quarter for hitting Granger on the top of the head when Granger went up for a layup. … Boston’s JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore, who played college ball 65 miles away at Purdue University, did not play.

ORLANDO, Fla. – For centuries, food has been a symbol for throwing off the shackles of oppression. Women stormed the Bastille because of the scarcity of bread. The Jews fled Egypt armed with matzo because they didn’t have enough time to bake. And now we have the latest flashpoint for freedom:

Diet Pepsi.

Soda pop Stan Van Gundy has done what so many before have desperately wanted to do – flip the proverbial pop-top at overpaid athletes who hold franchises and cities hostage with their whims. The silver can that the Magic head coach drank as he announced that management told him Dwight Howard wanted him, uh, canned, was both a source of refreshment to fans everywhere and a sip of courage for those who are afraid of saying the wrong thing about the superstar.

"This is the best I've felt about this team the entire year," Stan Van Gundy said after winning Saturday in Philadelphia.
(US Presswire)

Howard, who stepped in smiling at the end of the confession Thursday, was suddenly at the mercy of others’ words after months of stringing everyone along with his own. Serves him right. Maybe it serves as a wake-up call – at least that’s how it looked Saturday night after his first 20-20 game since March 13.

Oh sure, NBA types feel the coach broke “the code” – which translates to “whatever happens in front offices, stays in front offices,” or “behind closed doors,” as GM Otis Smith said in a TV interview during the Magic’s slump-busting win in Philadelphia on Saturday night. But “the code” is simply code for “don’t tell the public anything.” The code makes sense when there’s a skirmish among players. But it shouldn’t apply here. Magic fans have been hung up on Howard’s double-speak for too long and they deserve some truth. If it made things awkward for Howard or Smith, well, join the crowd. The entire city of Orlando has felt awkward for more than a year now.

[ Related: Magic end five-game losing streak ]

The entire city of Cleveland knows the feeling. Watching the Magic fizzle over the last several games is like witnessing a longer, more annoying version of what LeBron James did in his final playoff series as a Cavalier against Boston. In both cases, the star acts like he cares and wants to stay, but plays like he wants to leave. And tacitly or overtly, some of the fingers point to the head coach, whose job it is to motivate. Van Gundy knows it well, as Shaquille O’Neal nudged him out in Miami in favor of Pat Riley. (Oh wait, sorry, SVG wanted to spend more time with his family.) And Orlando has seen this show before, as O’Neal blamed the local newspaper for making life hard for him in Central Florida. This time Van Gundy, drawing strength from his soda, blew the whistle on the entire charade.

And it is a charade. Howard, in his opt-in news conference last month, described himself as “too loyal.” That’s a good one. If “loyal” is going behind a superior’s back to ask for his head on a platter, the Magic should trade for some traitors. “The only thing I’m ever uncomfortable with,” Van Gundy said Thursday, “is bull[expletive]. … The only thing that liberates me is, you know, be honest and deal with what’s out there. Some people have a hard time with that, I guess.”

Cue Howard, entering stage right.

The bravery of Van Gundy’s move was in its martyrdom. He was clearly not trying to save his job. “It’s 12:02 right now,” he said. “If they want to fire me at 12:05, I’ll go home and find something to do.” He knew there’s no win for him, just like there was no win for him in Miami. There’s never any win for a ring-less NBA coach unless there’s a titan backing him up – like Riley behind Erik Spoelstra. (This is what makes the Oklahoma City Thunder a miracle.) Even the Detroit Pistons are a good example: Joe Dumars was untouchable for years, and then Bill Davidson died, and soon the inmates ran the asylum. What more evidence do we need thanAndrew Bynum shooting 3s every night?

Dwight Howard scored 20 points and grabbed 22 rebounds against the Sixers. "I'm not a bad guy," Howard said. "Regardless of whatever's being said or how people want to portray me, I'm still going to be who I am. I'm the same person. I've never been a bad guy my whole life."
(US Presswire)

Van Gundy is the perfect leader for the revolution. He’s all grit to the league’s gloss, clearly more concerned about results than how he looks pacing the sideline. Of course Michael Jordan andKobe Bryant have egos and acted as if they run their teams, but they earned their place with multiple titles. Howard and James seem as obsessed with how they appear as much as how they play. And Van Gundy, give him credit, ain’t buyin’ it. Here’s what Sodapop Stan said about “The Decision,” even before it aired: “It takes 15 seconds to say I’ve decided to stay in Cleveland but we’ve got another 59 minutes and 45 seconds to, what? Promote LeBron James? As if we don’t do that enough.” Van Gundy has seen his brother, Jeff, take a team to the NBA Finals and eventually end up out of a job, while the team he once led – the Knicks – descended into desperate star-pleasing and money-squandering. That’s probably what will continue to happen in Orlando: a GM throwing silly money at big names only to watch them underperform. The Knicks hired Herb Williams; the Magic will probably go with Patrick Ewing. It’s perfect, really. Saturday night, Smith told reporter Lisa Salters he couldn’t say if Van Gundy would be the coach next season. Van Gundy has one more year left on his contract. You could say the writing is on the wall, but it’s more accurate to say the chalk outline is on the ground.

[ Yahoo! Sports Radio: Adrian Wojnarowski on Howard-Van Gundy feud]

Enough, said Van Gundy on Thursday, lifting his pop can high like Lady Liberty holding her torch. Give me your tired-of-this, poor-schlep, huddles-without-stars coaches yearning to be free of this garbage. Now that the air is clear, one of two things will happen: Either Van Gundy will get fired, and at least he’ll be “liberated,” or the Magic will turn it around and other coaches will follow SVG’s courageous lead. Imagine that.

So pop open a cold one, Mike Brown. Here’s a six-pack for you, Paul Westhead. And back up a Diet Pepsi truck for P.J. Carlesimo. None of them deserved the poor treatment. But all deserve a drink.