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Boston limited Indiana to eight points in the third quarter of its 84-74 Game 1 win, but it was the Celtics’ lowest point total of the season.The Associated Press

The Celtics are preparing for their Game 2 matchup with the Pacers aware their series-opening win was notable more for its ugliness than the outcome.

Meanwhile, the Rockets and Bucks are heading into the second games of their respective series against the Jazz and Pistons expecting more competitive games after dominating victories.

Boston limited Indiana to eight points in the third quarter of its 84-74 Game 1 win. It was the Celtics’ lowest point total of the season and the first time they won a game in 2018-19 in which they didn’t reach 100 points.

Change is on the minds of both teams.

For the Celtics, that could mean tweaks to the starting lineup as they continue to adjust to the absence of Marcus Smart, who is recovering from a torn left oblique.

“It’s frustrating, but you have to take it day by day and one day at a time,” Smart said on Tuesday.

Celtics coach Brad Stevens acknowledged Smart’s absence forced the team to play differently and will continue to require adjustments.

Without Smart to help with ballhandling duties, it mostly falls on Kyrie Irving.

“That limits you a little bit,” Stevens said. “We’ll play Terry [Rozier] and Gordon [Hayward] more with Kyrie than we have. But I think ultimately there’s going to be moments where Kyrie will be it. We’ll have one point guard on the floor.”

Will that mean changes to the starting lineup?

“We re-evaluate everything every day,” Stevens said.

Pacers forward Thaddeus Young said the game film only highlighted shortcomings they knew about.

“Free throws. And just upping our intensity on the defensive end. They upped their defensive pressure. I think we backed up a little bit,” Young said.

Scoring wasn’t a problem for James Harden in Houston’s 122-90 win. The star had a game-high 29. Utah star Donovan Mitchell had 19, but was just 7-of-18 from the field.

“Their defence was really designed to keep me out of the paint and we’ve got to find ways around that,” Mitchell said. “As a team, we’re not going to miss the amount of shots we missed last time.”

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