Boston rallies late in the last frame, sweeps undermanned Pacers for Finals berth
Juan Carlo R. Mercado
In a crucial game between the Boston Celtics and the Indiana Pacers, Boston drubbed the Indiana Pacers to advance to the NBA Finals via a 105-102 late-game thriller, sweeping the Haliburton-less Pacers in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, May 28.
Photo Courtesy of NBA. |
Jaylen Brown, who was hailed as the Eastern Conference Finals MVP, delivered a sterling performance with 29 markers, six rebounds, and two dimes while Jayson Tatum tallied a double-double performance with 26 points, 13 boards, and eight assists.
The ECF MVP expressed that he and Derreck White always worked on corner three-pointers.
“Great shot. We work on that all the time, two-on-one reads,”, Brown shared.
“Before that, I told D White just to stay ready and that was a big shot, a big shot to send us to the finals.”, he added.
With less than 5 minutes of action, Andrew Nembhard sank a step-back three-pointer, until the top-seeded Celtics dictated the tempo of the match with Jrue Holiday banking in an and-one layup, 98-100.
Tatum pushed the tempo as he threw down a ferocious slam while Brown shook Obi Toppin and made a crucial floater to equalize the game at 102 apiece.
With a minute and nine seconds to go, Brown flashed his all-around brilliance, blocking Nembhard on the clutch to give his squad a chance to take the lead and as the defense of Indiana collapsed, Brown passed the ball to an open White who drained a cold-blooded corner three with 44 seconds to go, 105-102.
Nembhard delivered a double-double performance with 24 markers, 10 assists, and six dimes while Pascal Siakam also chipped in a double-double performance with 19 points, 10 boards, and three assists but couldn't keep their squad afloat.
On the other hand, Myles Turner failed to explode on both ends of the floor as he finished the game with an awful eight points, four rebounds, and an assist in a do-or-die game.
In Game 1, Boston escaped the forces of Indiana with a 133-128 overtime win while in Game 2, Boston started and finished aggressively to forge a lopsided 126-110 victory before heading to Indiana.
Game 3, Boston yet again completed a come-from-behind win with Jrue Holiday's steal on Nembhard on the dying seconds of the game and an and-one play being the highlight of the match, 114-111.
The Celtics will now wait for the Western Conference contender in a do-or-die match-up for the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday (Philippine Time).