DERRICK White drilled a go-ahead three-pointer as Boston Celtics scored a 105-102 Game 4 win over Indiana Pacers to sweep the NBA Eastern Conference Finals on Monday night (Tuesday in the Philippines) at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.
With the score tied at 102-all, White was left wide open on the corner for the marginal triple, giving the Celtics a 105-102 advantage with under a minute remaining.
After a missed triple by Pacers’ Andrew Nembhard, Celtics’ Jayson Tatum also missed on a three-pointer, but his teammate Jrue Holiday secured the offensive rebound to seal the win.
White finished with 16 points, five steals, four rebounds, four assists, and three blocks as the Celtics returned to the NBA Finals for the second time in the last three seasons.
Jaylen Brown led the way for the Celtics with 29 points, Tatum had 26 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists, and Holiday delivered 17 points and nine rebounds for the 17-time NBA champions.
The Celtics will face either Dallas Mavericks or Minnesota Timberwolves in a best-of-seven finals beginning on June 7 (Philippine time) at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Celtics were actually down 90-98 after back-to-back hits by Pacers’ Aaron Nesmith before they unloaded five straight points from Brown and Tatum to cut the deficit to 95-98.
The Pacers responded with baskets from Paskal Siakam to widen the lead to 102-98, but the Celtics responded with two straight connections from Brown and Tatum to tie the score at 102-all.
Nembhard led the way for the Pacers with 24 points to go with 10 assists and six rebounds, Siakam added 19 points and 10 rebounds, while TJ McConnell, Nesmith, and Obi Toppin had 15, 14, and 12, respectively.
Tyrese Haliburton missed his second straight game for the Pacers due to a right hamstring injury he sustained in Game 2./PN
BOX SCORE:
BOSTON 105 — Brown 29, Tatum 26, Holiday 17, White 16, Horford 7, Hauser 5, Pritchard 5, Tillman 0.
INDIANA 102 — Nembhard 24, Siakam 19, McConnell 15, Nesmith 14, Toppin 12, Turner 8, Jackson 4, McDermott 3, Sheppard 3.
Quarterscores: 29-27, 58-57, 80-83, 105-102.
