For many of the evening, Jrue Vacation was comparatively quiet.
Vacation, who was questionable with an sickness earlier within the day, determined to powerful it out however was clearly not his traditional spry self.
Then within the closing minute, Vacation dug deep and shifted the trajectory of not solely the sport, but in addition the sequence. Vacation delivered an enormous go-ahead and-one with 38.2 seconds left, secured an enormous steal with 3.1 seconds remaining and hit two clutch free throws with 1.1 left.
“I’m glad we obtained him,” Jayson Tatum to ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters. “Jrue’s a hell of a competitor.”
The Celtics outlasted the Pacers, 114-111, in a back-and-forth Sport 3 that featured loads of drama and intrigue. Indiana gave Boston every thing it may deal with Saturday evening, however the Celtics earned their largest win of the season in spectacular style.
Tatum fueled the Celtics with 36 factors, 10 rebounds, 8 assists and 0 turnovers. Jaylen Brown added 24, and Al Horford contributed 23 on seven 3-pointers.
Andrew Nembhard poured in 32 for the Pacers in Tyrese Haliburton’s absence, T.J. McConnell scored 23 off the bench and Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner chipped in 22 apiece, however it wasn’t fairly sufficient.
Boston handed Indiana its first residence lack of the playoffs and moved to 5-0 on the street.
The Celtics jumped out to a 16-9 lead three minutes in, fueled by scorching capturing from Tatum and Horford. Boston began 6 for six earlier than a miss, and Derrick White set the tone defensively by acrobatically swatting a Turner shot.
Indiana methodically chipped away, making a aware effort to push the ball and assault the basket. Siakam spearheaded a 16-8 surge to finish the quarter, because the Pacers sliced the Celtics’ result in 32-31 via 1.
Jayson Tatum is the first participant in NBA historical past with not less than 38 factors, 10 rebounds, and eight assists whereas committing 0 turnovers in a playoff recreation. pic.twitter.com/ZlfqVcT5lq
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) Could 26, 2024
Tatum completed the quarter with 15, Siakam had 11 and Indiana racked up a whopping 26 factors within the paint. It was no coincidence, both, as Indiana systematically attacked a smaller Celtics staff with conviction and objective.
At first, it appeared as if the Celtics had the formulation for withstanding the Pacers’ inevitable spike in power. Then within the second quarter, every thing went awry for Boston, as Indiana dropped 38 factors to construct a 69-57 halftime benefit that felt like extra.
Nembhard and McConnell had been the first catalysts. Each did the overwhelming majority of their injury inside and within the midrange, breaking down a few of the Celtics’ greatest defenders off the dribble with relative ease.
The Celtics could win a championship, however they performed removed from championship-caliber protection within the second quarter.
The Pacers relied on their frenetic model and dictated the tempo the majority of the quarter. They completed the half capturing 63.6 % from the sphere and 10 of 10 from the road, totaling 20 assists whereas hitting simply three 3-pointers.
Boston shot 55.6 % from 3 and turned it over solely 3 times, however it didn’t matter a lot, as Indiana obtained primarily no matter it wished. The Celtics did, nevertheless, use an 8-0 flurry late within the half to remain inside hanging distance regardless of a Nembhard 3 within the closing seconds.
After a comparatively even begin to the second half, the Celtics ratcheted up the defensive depth and made the Pacers work for every thing — a stage of firepower that was sorely lacking within the second quarter returned at a important time.
Xavier Tillman – the one Celtic with a constructive plus-minus via three quarters – offered a carry defensively, and Horford and Jrue Vacation additionally chipped in on that finish. The Pacers couldn’t purchase a 3, however Nembhard continued to sizzle to protect the lead.
A Doug McDermott tip-in prolonged Indiana’s result in 90-81 via three.
Momentum shifted Boston’s completely Boston’s approach early within the fourth, as Vacation and White attacked the offensive glass and Tatum maneuvered his approach into the lane. Horford’s sixth 3-pointer trimmed the margin to 93-90 with 8:29 remaining.
“You’ve obtained to consider,” Tatum stated. “We at all times consider we’ve obtained an opportunity to win the sport.”
After a vicious throwdown from Brown and a well timed 3 from Tatum, the Celtics trailed simply 109-106 with 1:41 remaining. Tatum then hit Horford on a slick behind-the-back go and Horford buried his seventh 3-pointer to chop it to 2.
Vacation muscled his strategy to the rim and completed, plus the foul, to place Boston forward, 112-111, with 38.9 remaining.
Nembhard obtained an honest look on the following possession – a midrange shot he had buried all evening – however he hit the again rim and Horford secured a rebound.
“He was large time for us,” Tatum stated of Horford.
Then Vacation, who was additionally good in Sport 1, picked Nembhard’s pocket and offered the ending touches.
