It's all relative. It's one thing to win five consecutive games, two of them over the second- and third-best teams in the Eastern Conference. But it's quite another thing to beat the best team in the league.
Boston came to town and beat the Pacers for the fourth consecutive time Saturday night, and they did it the way they've been doing it: with elite execution at both ends of the court. They neutered the Pacers' offense and shredded their defense in the third quarter, turning a once-raucous Bankers Life Fieldhouse into a study hall.
Which was good, because the Pacers had lessons to learn.