Celtics fall to Hibbert, Pacers

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s Roy Hibbert had no mercy on Boston’s depleted front line.

The 7-foot-2 center scored 26 points as the Pacers beat the Celtics 107-100 on Monday night and remained in sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

The Celtics remained 2 games behind the Eastern Conference-leading Bulls.

Boston already had traded away Kendrick Perkins, and Shaquille O’Neal, Jermaine O’Neal and Troy Murphy were out with injuries, leaving the Celtics thin in the post.

The last thing Boston’s remaining posts needed was foul trouble, but they dealt with it for most of the game. Kevin Garnett finished with 4 fouls and only played 25 minutes, and Krstic finished with 5 fouls and played just 17 minutes.

That left the 6-9 Davis to defend Hibbert for much of the night. Davis tried to use his 290-pound frame to make Hibbert uncomfortable, but Hibbert made 12 of 17 shots.

“I just came out aggressive and wanted to be a force down there offensively and defensively,” Hibbert said.

It was the most points Hibbert has scored since tying a career high with 29 on Feb. 16. He had only scored more than 20 points once since.