Derrick White’s tie-breaking 3-pointer with 43 seconds left gave Boston the lead, and the Celtics swept the Indiana Pacers 105-102 on Monday night to advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in three years.
White finished with 16 points. Jaylen Brown led Boston with 29 points, while Jayson Tatum added 26 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists to help them overcome a nine-point second-half deficit.
Boston swept the Pacers, coming back from a 3-0 deficit in last year’s conference finals to force a seventh game.
Indiana, which was without two-time All-Star Tyrese Haliburton, lost its second straight home game after coughing away leads in the last minute. Andrew Nembhard finished with 24 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds, but he missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds, and the Pacers never got the ball again.
Pascal Siakam had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Indiana, while T.J. McConnell scored 15 and Aaron Nesmith had 14.