Celtics surge late against Pacers, take 3-0 lead in East finals

Boston are the brink of a series victory.

Sun, 26 May, 2024 - 12:27

Reuters

Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday went the entire day feeling under the weather before spending Saturday night making the Indiana Pacers feel sick.

The 15-year NBA veteran was a thorn in the Pacers' side during the final 38.9 seconds of Saturday's 114-111 victory, as Boston took a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

Holiday was battling a fierce fever and spent much of the day sleeping. He wasn't cleared to play until approximately 45 minutes before tipoff.

"I didn't feel too well," Holiday said. "I guess I just figured if I got a good day's rest or tried to sleep through it, that would help me for tonight. But it's Game 3 in the Eastern Conference finals, so I wasn't going to miss this game."

Holiday's efforts present the Celtics with a chance to clinch the best-of-seven series on Monday in Indianapolis.

Holiday converted a go-ahead three-point play and added a key steal in the final seconds as Boston closed the game with a 13-2 run to hand the Pacers their first home loss in seven games this postseason.

Jayson Tatum recorded 36 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists as Boston recovered from an 18-point, third-quarter deficit. Jaylen Brown scored 24 points and Al Horford drained a career-high seven 3-pointers while scoring 23 points for the top-seeded Celtics.

Indiana's Aaron Nesmith had a 3-pointer bounce off the rim as time expired.

Andrew Nembhard scored a career-best 32 points and added nine assists for the sixth-seeded Pacers. T.J. McConnell had 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists, Myles Turner added 22 points and 10 rebounds and Pascal Siakam also scored 22 points for Indiana, which lost at home for the first time since March 18.

The Pacers played without All-NBA Third-Team selection Tyrese Haliburton, who injured his left hamstring in Game 2.

Holiday finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and three steals, with his biggest contributions coming late in the game.

Boston trailed by five before Horford drilled a trey with 1:12 left, and Holiday added his pivotal three-point play to give the Celtics a 112-111 edge with 38.9 seconds to go.