Derrick White had missed 7 of 8 3-point attempts when he found himself open in the right corner of the floor in the final minute of a tie game with an NBA Finals berth at stake.
He watched Jaylen Brown handle the ball and was just waiting for his Boston Celtics teammate to deliver a pass. Once Brown did just that, it was White’s turn to make a play.
“Just was trusting that JB is going to make the right play like he has this entire year,” White said. “I got a good look and wanted to stay in the shot and knock it down.”
White drained the 3-pointer with 45 seconds left and the Celtics finished off a four-game sweep of the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals with a 105-102 victory on Monday night at Indianapolis.
“It’s a credit to him,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said of White. “He’s another guy who has short-term memory. The last (missed) shot doesn’t bother him, he plays with a sense of presence.”
Brown scored 29 points and Jayson Tatum added 26 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists as the top-seeded Celtics landed a spot in the Finals for the second time in the past three seasons.
“It’s been nothing but a grind,” Brown said. “We didn’t skip no steps all season. We have a bunch of great guys in this locker room. We have a bunch of tough guys and our coaching staff and front office has been great. Now we want to take it to the next step.”
Andrew Nembhard had 24 points and a playoff career-high 10 assists for the sixth-seeded Pacers, who lost in the East finals for the eighth time in nine trips. Indiana’s only victory was over the New York Knicks in 2000.
Boston overcame a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter while once again playing better basketball down the stretch.
A defensive breakdown by the Pacers left White standing alone in the right corner on the decisive shot. Brown, who was named the MVP of the series, spotted him and his pinpoint pass was on the mark, and White’s shot swished through the net.
Nembhard missed a 3-pointer with 33.6 seconds left and Tatum got the rebound. Indiana decided not to foul, and Tatum missed a trey with 8.3 seconds remaining. But Jrue Holiday collected the offensive rebound with 4.7 seconds left, and the Celtics ran out the clock.
It was Boston’s second straight comeback win in Indianapolis. The Celtics overcame an eight-point deficit with 2:38 left in Game 3 to post a 114-111 victory. Boston trailed by as many as 18 in that contest.
“We never say die,” Tatum said. “These were some tough games we had to play in, and we always find a way to figure it out. It’s different guys every single night and we sacrifice in order to reach our ultimate goal.”
Holiday had 17 points and nine rebounds and White added 16 points, five steals and three blocked shots for the Celtics, who will face either the Dallas Mavericks or Minnesota Timberwolves in the Finals.
Pascal Siakam had 19 points and 10 rebounds and T.J. McConnell added 15 points for Indiana. Aaron Nesmith scored 14 points and Obi Toppin added 12.
Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton (hamstring) missed his second straight game.
“The level of fight was tremendous all the way through this,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said of his team. “Circumstance never fazes them one way or the other. They were in this to win every possession that they could and any game that they could.
“A lot of respect to our players and how they conducted themselves in the series.”
The Celtics shot 44.9 percent from the field, including 14 of 44 from 3-point range.
Indiana made 46 percent of its shot attempts and was 10 of 29 from behind the arc.
McConnell scored six points in 64 seconds early in the fourth quarter to give the Pacers an 89-82 lead. A three-point play by Nembhard made it 94-85 with 8:57 remaining.
After Boston moved within four, Nesmith made back-to-back baskets to give Indiana a 98-90 lead with 5:56 to go.
The Celtics answered with an 8-2 run, moving within 100-98 on Holiday’s three-point play with 3:54 remaining.
Brown’s runner tied the score at 102 with 2:40 left.
Tatum scored 16 points before halftime as Boston led 58-57 at the break. Nembhard also tallied 16 points in the first half.
The Pacers took an 83-80 advantage into the final stanza but were outplayed by Boston down the stretch of a close game for the third time in the series. Indiana lost Game 1 in overtime.
“It’s hard because I think when you look at all those games, we were right there,” Siakam said. “It stings and it’s hard because I know how hard we work.
“It’s heartbreaking losses after heartbreaking losses. … It doesn’t matter how good we played. We didn’t get it done.”
–Field Level Media
