INDIANAPOLIS — The Celtics erased an 18-point second half lead and rallied for an impressive 114-111 road win over the undermanned Pacers to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Boston finished out the game with an 13-2 run in the closing minutes of regulation, taking their first lead of the entire second half on Jrue Holiday’s and-1 layup with 38.9 seconds remaining. Holiday again sealed the game with a clutch steal on Andrew Nembhard with three seconds remaining in regulation before Aaron Nesmith missed a 3-point attempt on the buzzer for Indiana.
Jayson Tatum led the way for the visitors with his best game of the playoffs, posting 36 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists in the win. All five Boston starters scored in double figures in the win with Al Horford adding seven 3s and 23 points in a monster shooting night for him. Holiday played through an illness to add 14 points, 9 rebounds and a game-sealing steal.
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Andrew Nembhard had a team-high 32 points for the shorthanded Pacers who played without All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton due to a hamstring injury.
The Celtics led by as many as nine points in the first quarter after a red-hot shooting start but the Pacers started to turn the tide from there, crushing Boston’s defense in the paint.
Indiana outscored Boston 54-33 in the final 18 minutes of the first half as they piled up points on the interior. The hosts scored 42 points in the paint in the first half, the most allowed by the Celtics in a half all season with big contributions from Nembhard, Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner all scoring 15 points or more while shooting above 60 percent from the field.
Jayson Tatum broke out of his shooting slump to score 20 first half points but Boston’s backcourt and bench failed to let the Celtics keep Pacers with Indiana’s hot shooting, with Indiana hitting 63 percent of their shots before intermission against a sometimes lethargic defensive effort by Boston.
Indiana pushed their lead up to 18 points in the third quarter before the Celtics defense began to tighten up, closing out the third quarter on a 15-6 run in the final six minutes of the period.
The momentum continued at the start of the fourth as 3-point shooting from Jayson Tatum and Al Horford helped to carry Boston back in the game. The Celtics took back the lead for the first time since the first quarter with a 13-2 run with 38.9 seconds remaining in regulation before Holiday’s steal sealed the win.
Boston will attempt to go for the series sweep on Monday night in Indiana in Game 4.
