BOSTON (AP) -- Larry Bird was back in Boston for a familiar

result: A playoff victory.

Bird watched from the stands while Ron Artest scored 22 points

to help Indiana beat Boston 90-75 on Sunday for a sweep in the

best-of-seven series. Jermaine O'Neal scored 18 to help Indiana

earn its first victory in a playoff series after three consecutive

first-round losses.

"This was one of our goals: to get out of the first round. And

we did that," said Rick Carlisle, whom Bird picked to coach the

Pacers after the Celtics Hall of Famer took over as president of

basketball operations. "We're the first team to advance, so we're

very proud of that."

The Pacers will have more than a week to rest before the Eastern

Conference semifinals, where they will play the winner of the

first-round series between Miami and New Orleans. The Heat lead 2-1

heading into Game 4 on Tuesday.

Reggie Miller was 4-for-8 from 3-point range for 14 points,

hitting a pair of 3s early in the third quarter to help the Pacers

open a 17-point lead.

"The younger players on this team feel obligated to go out and

get a ring for Reggie," the 25-year-old O'Neal said of the team's

38-year-old elder statesman. "We know he doesn't have many more

attempts left."

Paul Pierce had 27 points and 11 rebounds and Mark Blount had 21

and 13 for the Celtics, who went away meekly for the third time in

the series.

"I really have a bad taste in my mouth," Pierce said, noting

that the Celtics were swept in the second round last year by New

Jersey. "This is really not a fun feeling."

The loss -- just the third four-game sweep in Celtics playoff

history -- could signal the end for interim coach John Carroll, who

took over when Jim O'Brien resigned Jan. 27. Carroll lost 12 of his

first 13 games but managed to eek out the last playoff spot in the

East with a record that was 10 games under .500.

"I've been a coach my whole life, and when you are a coach you

understand that coaching is a very precarious job," Carroll said.

"I hope I have represented this franchise and the city of Boston

over the last 40 games and the players in the way they should be."

Celtics basketball boss Danny Ainge declined to comment on the

coaching situation but conceded that it was a difficult atmosphere

for Carroll to work in. Taking over a team that went to the

conference semifinals last year, Ainge traded Antoine Walker nine

days before the season and made several other roster-shaking trades

that led O'Brien to walk out midseason.

Asked if he could understand why players would be upset, Ainge

said, "Absolutely."

"I can understand that. I can't care," he said. "I do care,

obviously. But I can't let a player's frustrations make my

decisions for me."

The attendance was announced at 16,389 -- about 1,000 short of a

sellout -- but it appeared to be closer to 12,000 and many fewer

were left by the time it ended; more than half of the luxury suites

were dark. Those who stayed home or left early were able to catch

the Red Sox and Yankees wrapping up their series in New York.

Indiana hadn't won a playoff series since they went to the NBA

Finals in 2000, when Bird was coach. Bird stepped down after the

season, but he took over the basketball operations this year and he

might have been just the good luck charm they needed.

Playing in Boston against Bird's old team, the Pacers fell

behind 33-26 in the second quarter before scoring eight straight

points to take the lead. After a basket by Boston, Indiana scored

another seven in a row and led 46-38 at the half.

Blount's layup was the first basket of the third quarter, but

Miller hit a 3-pointer to make it 49-40 and added another a few

minutes later to cap a 13-2 run that put the game away. In all, the

Pacers scored 33 of 42 points over 13:10 to turn a seven-point

Celtics lead into a 59-42 Indiana rout.Game notes
Pierce was called for a technical foul with 6:03 left in

the first quarter for pushing Artest away. Although it didn't

appear to be a violent shove, Artest fell to the court and lingered

there. ... Chucky Atkins hurt his right ankle in the final minute

of the first quarter. He returned for the second quarter but was

not back for the second half. ... Pierce later took a flop when

Jonathan Bender landed on him as he set up for a jumper. ... Ainge

returned to Boston from Europe at about noon. He was not seen

during the game but he had a lengthy postgame talk with reporters.

Ainge missed Games 2 and 3 for a scouting trip in Europe.