On Monday night in Indiana the Celtics were looking to book their trip to the NBA Finals up 3-0 on the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. While Indiana would be without their star Tyrese Haliburton again looking to stave off elimination and force the series back to Boston for game 5. Many thought this game was merely a formality but the Pacers had proven they weren’t going to go down without a fight in game 3 could they prove it again in game 4 and get the win this time?

First Quarter:

The Celtics and Pacers would battle back in forth throughout the first quarter with Boston getting it’s main contributions from Tatum and Holiday. While the Pacers got a massive lift off their bench from TJ McConnell who had been a thorn in the Celtics side all series long. Some questioned how Indiana would come out with their season on the line but they showed it wasn’t going to be easy for Boston in the first quarter. McConnell would hit a buzzer beating layup to end the first to cut Boston’s lead to 29-27 at the end of one.

• Dick Lipe on X (formerly Twitter): "Tatum just passed LeBron for 2nd place on the list of most playoff points by a player 26 and under. He now trails Kobe by 115 points.2694 Kobe Bryant2579 JAYSON TATUM2578 LeBron James / X"

  Tatum just passed LeBron for 2nd place on the list of most playoff points by a player 26 and under. He now trails Kobe by 115 points.2694 Kobe Bryant2579 JAYSON TATUM2578 LeBron James

  Second Quarter:

  Indiana would continue to prove they wouldn’t go down without a fight in the second taking a 36-35 lead after an Andrew Nembhard 3 pointer with 9:38 to play in the half. Tatum would continue to be the Celtics best player in the first half hitting an and-1 to tie the game at 42 with 7:20 to go, he was already up to 12 points in the game.  Boston would show why they’re up 3-0 and on the brink of the finals the second half of the second with Tatum, Holiday and Brown dominating on both ends a Brown 3 pointer would give Boston a 55-51 lead with 2:37 to go in the half. Indiana would refuse to go away though with Nembhard hitting a buzzer beating jumper to cut Boston’s lead to 58-57 at the half.

• Josue Pavón on X (formerly Twitter): "Celtics leading the Pacers 58-57 at the halfTatum: 16 points, 5 reboundsHoliday: 10 pointsBrown: 10 pointsBOS: 48.9% FG, 8/20 from 3Nembhard: 16 points, 5 assistsSiakam: 13 points, 5 reboundsMcConnell: 8 pointsIND: 46.8% FG, 6/15 from 3 / X"

  Celtics leading the Pacers 58-57 at the halfTatum: 16 points, 5 reboundsHoliday: 10 pointsBrown: 10 pointsBOS: 48.9% FG, 8/20 from 3Nembhard: 16 points, 5 assistsSiakam: 13 points, 5 reboundsMcConnell: 8 pointsIND: 46.8% FG, 6/15 from 3

  Third Quarter:

  The Pacers would come out of the half on fire going on an 11-4 run to start the half taking a 68-62 lead with 8:57 left in the third. Myles Turner and Jaylen Brown would have a slight altercation after Turner pushed Derrick White under the basket leading to an offensive foul, and then a technical foul on Turner and Brown with 7:42 to go in the third.

  The third would continue to get chippy between the two teams with the refs losing a little control of what was a foul and what wasn’t. Indiana would go up 76-71 with some good shooting from Nembhard and Nesmith while Boston went cold for a portion of the quarter. A pair of Hauser free throws and a Jrue Holiday layup would make it 76-75 Indiana with 3:10 to play in the third. The Pacers would close out the third strong continuing to hit tough shots , they’d head into the fourth leading 83-80 trying to extend their season.

• Josue Pavón on X (formerly Twitter): "Pacers leading the Celtics 83-80 at the end of the third quarter. IND outscored BOS 26-22 in the frame. Tatum & Brown leading with 19 points each, White has 13 points & 4 steals. Nembhard has 19 points, 9 assists. Siakam has 15 points & 8 rebounds / X"

  Pacers leading the Celtics 83-80 at the end of the third quarter. IND outscored BOS 26-22 in the frame. Tatum & Brown leading with 19 points each, White has 13 points & 4 steals. Nembhard has 19 points, 9 assists. Siakam has 15 points & 8 rebounds

  Fourth Quarter:

  The fourth would start with Indiana continuing to hit shots and hold onto their slight lead while Boston was still struggling to get things going offensively. Andrew Nembhard would hit an and-1 layup to increase Indiana’s lead to 94-85 with 8:56 to go in the game. Boston faced a larger deficit in game 3 but would they be able to battle back again? Jaylen Brown would answer Indiana’s run with a 3-pointer to cut it to 94-88 with 8:15 to go in the game.

  Jaylen Brown would smack TJ McConnell in the face trying to get a loose ball rebound, forcing McConnell to hit the deck hard. Brown would be called for a common foul after a review, the ref saying “while unfortunate” the foul didn’t reach the need for a flagrant foul. Tatum would continue his great play hitting Holiday for an easy basket under the hoop to cut the Pacers lead to 94-90 with 6:52 to go in the game.

  Former Celtics Aaron Nesmith would hit two big shots to give the Pacers a 98-90 lead with 5:45 to go and Boston starting to feel the pressure of trying to close out the Pacers. However Tatum’s great night would continue as he’d hit a 3 pointer to make it 98-95 with just under 5 minutes to go. Jrue Holiday would continue to be huge for the Celtics down the stretch in games hitting another clutch and one with 3:54 to go making it a 100-98 game with the Pacers holding on to a small lead.

  Jaylen Brown would hit a tough floater with 2:30 to go to tie the game at 102-102, Boston would get a stop on the next possession and quick back to back turnovers would lead to Boston getting the ball back. Both teams were frantic on both ends to end this one desperate for anything to go there way. Rick Carlisle would call a timeout with 1:09 to go and the score still tied at 102. Jaylen Brown would come up with a huge block on Nembhard after the timeout leading to a corner Derrick White 3 to give Boston a 105-102 lead with 40 seconds to go.

  The Pacers would get a good look on the other end but they’d come up just short and Jayson Tatum would sky for the rebound and get fouled giving Boston the ball back with just under 30 seconds to go in the game. Boston would bleed the clock and get a contested Tatum 3 pointer look but he’d miss leading to Jrue Holiday coming up huge with the offensive rebound and headsy play to kick the ball back out bleeding the clock and clinching the game and the series for the Celtics. It wasn’t pretty for Boston but the hardest game to win in a series is always the closer and they did it on the road executing down the stretch. It was ugly for most of the fourth for Boston but they got defensive stops and big shots when they needed it most, one of the biggest question marks surrounding this team heading into the playoffs.

  Boston now awaits the winner of the Western Conference Finals matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota TimberWolves. But with the Mavericks holding a 3-0 series lead it seems like a foregone conclusion that the Celtics will have to go through former Celtic Kyrie Irving to get their first title with this core. Jaylen Brown would be named Eastern Conference Finals MVP after a tremendous series showing his importance on both ends for the team and hitting massive shots down the stretch to help clinch victories. Jaylen finished game 4 with 29 points 6 rebounds and two assists, now Brown and the Celtics are on a collision course for Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic.

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