INDIANAPOLIS — The Celtics were without Jaylen Brown for Saturday’s showdown with the Indiana Pacers as he attended the funeral of his best friend, Trevin Steede, in his native Atlanta.
There were initial thoughts Brown would try to rejoin the team in Indianapolis but he instead stayed in Atlanta. He will return to Boston on Sunday and should be available when the Celtics host the Detroit Pistons on Monday.
“There are bigger things than basketball,’’ coach Brad Stevens said before the Celtics’ 108-98 victory. “For anybody that’s been to a funeral, we’ve all been there and afterward I think it’s appropriate to take all the time you need. You need that time. We did not expect him to be here.’’
Marcus Smart started in place of Brown while Daniel Theis got the nod in place of Marcus Morris, who did not play in the second of a back-to-back set because of a sore right knee.
Morris scored 9 points and grabbed six rebounds in 26 minutes of action Friday in the Celtics’ 118-103 victory over the Magic at TD Garden.
Oladipo sits out
The Pacers were without valuable guard Victor Oladipo, who missed Saturday’s game with a sore right knee sustained in Friday’s win over the Raptors. Oladipo is Indiana’s leading scorer, averaging 22.8 points in 19 games.
Lance Stephenson, in his second stint with the Pacers, got his first start of the season and registered 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Like the Celtics, the Pacers entered this season making a total transformation, having traded All-Star Paul George to Oklahoma City for Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis, the second-year forward from Gonzaga.
The early perception was that the Thunder easily won the trade with the Pacers, but Indiana entered Saturday with an 11-8 record, good for sixth in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Thunder went into Saturday’s slate 8-10, good for eighth in the Western Conference.
The Pacers have been successful with an array of offensive contributors. Six players were averaging at least 12.7 points per game as Indiana has survived losing promising center Myles Turner for seven games early in the season.
“They’re fantastic,’’ Stevens said of the Pacers. “The way that they’re playing, the way they’re getting up the floor, the transition numbers, the shooting numbers, they’re putting a lot of pressure on people.’’
Jefferson still rolling
Former Celtics big man Al Jefferson is still trucking, playing 10 games off the bench for Indiana and averaging 7.2 points.
Jefferson, 32, has not played in the last seven games and has been more of a mentor with Turner returning from injury.
Jefferson, playing for his fifth team in his 14 seasons, has embraced the role.
“He brings a lot of experience and he’s had a lot of success,’’ Pacers coach Nate McMillan said of Jefferson. “Talking with our young guys and really being patient. A guy like that feels that he could still play and wants to play.
“It really makes him a special guy for us that he is mentoring our bigs and allowing those guys to play and develop. His ability to talk to Myles and Domantas about playing the post position, especially when teams are switching, we have to look to do down there. That’s really helped.’’
McMillan, who took over for the fired Frank Vogel before last season, has molded his team into an up-tempo that’s eighth in the NBA in scoring. The Pacers, however, are 26th in opponent’s field goal percentage.
Winning spirit
Stevens said he didn’t feel as if the team played any looser now that the 16-game winning streak is over. The Celtics pounded the Orlando Magic on Friday two days after losing to Miami. Stevens was pleased with the performance, but said it wasn’t the byproduct of being more relaxed.
“[Friday] we showed flashes of playing a little bit better on offense in the first three quarters,’’ he said. “Hopefully we’ll build off that. I never sensed any of [the pressure]. Literally, we just focused on the next game. [The streak] became a question because we were asked, but that’s about it. We don’t feel like there was a ton of pressure and I don’t want to take away from Miami, they just pounded us. They deserved to win. No matter what, pressure or not, they deserved to win that game.
“We need to focus on getting better. We tried to do that throughout the first 20 games. We’ll keep it there.’’
Bird gets call
The Celtics welcomed back guard Jabari Bird, who rejoined the club from G-League Maine in Brown’s absence. Bird, who has a two-way contract, is expected to return to the Red Claws on Sunday. Bird did not see any game action Saturday.
Bird has played in two games with the Celtics and can be with the big club a maximum of 45 days during the G-League season.
He made a contribution to the Celtics’ first win of the season over the 76ers by playing 13 minutes and scoring 3 points.
Bird averaged 24.6 points in his first five games with the Red Claws.
“It’s been fun, when I go down to Maine, I definitely try to work on my game, both ends of the court,’’ Bird said. “I just try to improve. That’s the reason why I am down there. I have to show I can compete at this level, that’s my main focus.’’
Bird said the level of basketball in the G-League is competitive and he is enjoying the challenge after being drafted in the second round.
“Guys are trying to make it out of the G-League permanently, so me being a two-way guy, I know there’s a bull’s-eye on my back and they want to come at me and it’s always competitive down there. My mentality is the same for every game. Whatever the team needs me to do, that’s what I’m going to do.’’
Gary Washburn can be reached at gwashburn@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GwashburnGlobe.
