INDIANAPOLIS -- After Tuesday night's victory at Detroit, Indiana Pacers standout forward Paul George was averaging a respectable 16.8 points and eight rebounds.

But George was not satisfied, showing up very early for Wednesday night's game against the Boston Celtics for the purpose of getting up lots of extra shots.

The added work was a success, as George contributed 26 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals in the Pacers' 100-98 victory against the Celtics in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Not only that, but George defended Boston guard Avery Bradley on what could have been a game-winning 3-pointer in the closing seconds.

"He was making tough shots all game," George said of the game's final play. "I had to make it tough for him. To get out of here with a win is a sigh of relief."

Boston coach Brad Stevens credited the Pacers and George.

"They were really physical and did a great job knocking us off our cuts," Stevens said. "We didn't catch it where we wanted to catch it. We got a look and probably ended up having a chance to make a play there out of nothing. We were good at the start of the game, but we gave Paul George a couple of 3s, and he got going. Paul George is a star."

Bradley also credited Indiana on the final play.

"To be honest, they played great defense," Bradley said. "They got us out of our play we wanted to run, but I was able to get up a 3."

Pacers guard Monta Ellis made two free throws with 13.7 seconds remaining, breaking a tie, and Indiana rallied.

"We wanted to try and get the ball in Monta's hands at the top of the key," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said of the winning offensive possession. "He made a good move and got fouled. With Paul, I expected him to have a good night after coming over here so early today to put in extra work. It showed."

George and Jordan Hill, who added 16 points, led a fourth-quarter comeback. Ellis finished with 13 points, five rebounds and eight assists.

"You always have to stay with it," said Ellis, noting that Indiana has won consecutive games after starting 0-3. "We will have a lot of different lineups this year depending on the opponent, and we had a lot of guys play well tonight."

A basket from Jonas Jerebko and a 3-pointer from Thomas gave Boston a 79-78 lead with 8:51remaining. An Evan Turner 3-pointer at the 7:44 mark pushed the Celtics' lead to 82-78.

Indiana (2-3) took an 83-82 lead on a Rodney Stuckey 3-pointer at the 7:08 mark, and two George Hill free throws at 6:44 put the Pacers up 85-82.

Guard Isaiah Thomas led Boston (1-3) with 27 points, and Bradley added 21.

Indiana won despite making only 35 of 91 field goal attempts (38.5 percent). But the Pacers turned 19 Boston turnovers into 22 points. The Celtics shot 42.2 percent (35 of 83). Thomas and Bradley were a combined 17 of 35, but the rest of the Boston roster was only 18 of 48 (37.5 percent).

"We won because we found a way to make stops when we weren't making shots," George Hill said.

Indiana also out rebounded Boston 53-49, the first time this season the Pacers have out-rebounded an opponent. Indiana had 21 offensive rebounds, converting those into a 24-11 advantage in second-chance points.

A 3-pointer from George with 10:08 remaining in the third quarter pushed the Pacers into a 55-46 lead, but Boston countered with an 8-2 run to pull within 57-54 with 8:39 left in the period.

David Lee's three-point play with 45.4 seconds left in the quarter cut Indiana's lead to 73-72 through 36 minutes.

Boston outscored Indiana 29-24 in the third quarter.

Thomas had 14 second-quarter points for Boston, which outscored Indiana 27-26 in the period to close within 49-43 through 24 minutes.

Indiana, which got 15 first-half points from George, shot only 32.1 percent (17 of 53) during the first two quarters, but the Pacers out-rebounded Boston 32-27 in the opening half while forcing 13 turnovers, which Indiana converted into 15 points.

The Pacers also enjoyed a 15-3 advantage in second-chance points through the first 24 minutes.

Despite making only 9 of 25 field goal attempts, Indiana led 23-16 after one quarter, limiting the Celtics to six field goals in 20 attempts (30 percent) while out rebounding Boston, 17-12.

George had eight first quarter points, including six during a 16-6, quarter-closing run. Bradley had 10 during the first period for the Celtics.

NOTES: Indiana started C/F Lavoy Allen in place of C Ian Mahinmi, who is battling a sore lower back. ... The game was a homecoming for Boston coach Brad Stevens, the former Butler coach who graduated from DePaul University in Greencastle, Ind. ... Boston C Tyler Zeller is a former Indiana Mr. Basketball from Washington, Ind. ... The Pacers were coming off their first victory, a 94-82 triumph on Tuesday night in Detroit, getting a team-leading 23 points from G Rodney Stuckey. ... Indiana started the season 0-3. ... The game against Boston is the first of back-to-back home games for the Pacers, who will entertain Miami at 8 p.m. on Friday. ... Before facing the Celtics, Indiana PG George Hill ranked third in the NBA with 3-pointers made with 13, trailing only Golden State's Stephen Curry (21) and Chicago's Nikola Mirotic (14). ... Boston won the 2014-15 series against Indiana 3-1, including 1-1 in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.