Jrue Holiday has not felt good all day. He even skipped morning shootaround with the team. The Celtics guard looked great, though, when it counted most.
After making a three-point play with 38.9 seconds remaining to give Boston its first lead in almost 36 minutes, Holiday stole the game and then sealed the 114-111 victory at Indiana with two free throws on Saturday night to give the Celtics a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
The Celtics overcome an 18-point deficit in the second half and, with another victory at Indiana on Monday, can qualify for their second trip to the NBA Finals in three years.
I slept a lot, had a temperature, and am well. I feel fine, though, Holiday said. I simply wrote a play at the very end. He played magnificently and is a terrific player. I simply worked up a play.
On a night where he looked under the weather at times, Holiday finished with 14 points, five of which came in the last 39 seconds, and nine rebounds. He felt good enough to balance his kids on his lap, though, and he sounded like himself after that.
Boston’s other players finished the job while Holiday stumbled around.
With 36 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, Jayson Tatum equaled his postseason career high. Al Horford, 37, scored 23 points and made 7 of 12 3-pointers. Jaylen Brown contributed 24 points.
But Holiday’s late-game brilliance kept Boston a perfect 5-0 on the road in this season’s playoffs and quieted Indiana’s boisterous crowd.
“I’m glad we got him; Jrue is a fierce competitor,” Tatum remarked. Naturally, he has a championship. We have an amazing squad if he can come out here and give it everything for us and make a huge play to win the game.
Even before they discovered All-NBA guard Tyrese Haliburton would miss Game 3 due to a left hamstring ιnjury, the Pacers faced a difficult road back in this series. Furthermore unclear is his availability for Game 4.
Holiday snatched the ball from Andrew Nembhard with 3.3 seconds left, giving him a career-high 32 points. Twenty-two points were scored by T.J. McConnell, who also had nine rebounds and six assists. Myles Turner and Pascal Siakam each scored 22 points. Turner bagged ten rebounds as well.
Haliburton was obviously missed by the Pacers, who scored 69 points in the first half, twice took 18-point leads, and were still leading the NBA’s best team 107-99 with three minutes remaining.
Fearless. Our guys performed admirably, said head coach Rick Carlisle. We will be returning on Monday and will be punching even harder, even though we fell short tonight.
Still, the Pacers were energized as they had been during the first three home games, all victories, by a sellout crowd that was mostly dressed in gold checkered flag shirts with dozens of individual stamps of Indiana’s state outline and included actors here for the Indianapolis 500 weekend festivities.
But on a wild night, Holiday’s finishing burst—a massive layup, the game-winning free throw, the defensive play of the game, and two free throws to seal it with 1.1 left—quieted the crowd.
Indiana led by eighteen points halfway through the second quarter and by the same amount again halfway through the third. The second time, Boston moved within 90-81 after three thanks to a 13-4 run sparked by a string of turnovers by Indiana.
With 9:29 left in the fourth, the Celtics went on a 9-3 run to go within 93-90 on a Horford three.
With 3:05 remaining, Indiana reconstructed a 107-99 lead, only to see Boston respond in a 13-2 run, propelled by Christmas.
We’ve overcome every obstacle, Tatum declared. One victory separates us from the championship game, so we’re in excellent shape right now. We have a unique opportunity to return to the finals, but we can’t look past Monday or anything like that.