INDIANAPOLIS — The Boston Celtics had performed 12 playoff video games previous to Saturday. And in these 12 video games, groups with double-digit leads (Boston 10 occasions, its opponent twice) had been 12-0.
Halfway via the third quarter of Sport 3 of Jap Convention Finals, the Indiana Pacers, enjoying with out Tyrese Haliburton, had been up 18. The Celtics, up 2-0 within the collection, didn’t want this recreation and positively weren’t the determined crew.
However this time, they got here again. They shut down the high-powered Pacers’ offense (27 factors on 35 possessions) over the past 18 minutes, and Jrue Vacation made huge performs on each ends of the ground down the stretch to safe a 114-11 victory that put them one win from the NBA Finals.
Listed below are some notes, quotes, numbers and movie because the Celtics gained their sixth straight recreation and put the Pacers on the point of elimination:
1. Celtics’ All-Protection combo makes huge defensive performs
Each Vacation and Derrick White had been named to the All-Defensive Second Staff earlier this week, and their prowess was on show all through Sport 3.
Whereas they’re each 6-foot-4 guards, each can defend inside. The Pacers usually had measurement benefits within the submit on Saturday evening, however they weren’t usually in a position to rating with these benefits.
Early on, it was 6-foot-11 Myles Turner vs. White, who swatted Turner’s turnaround jumper …
Just a few possessions later, White obtained a submit cease in opposition to Isaiah Jackson. Late within the first quarter, Vacation compelled Turner right into a double-dribble.
The Pacers nonetheless scored effectively via the primary half-hour, however the Celtics guards made extra huge performs late. On Indiana’s first possession of the fourth quarter, Turner rolled to the rim and seemingly had a layup, just for White to veer off his man and decide up his fourth block of the evening.
Vacation had only one block, however three steals, with the final being the largest defensive play of Sport 3. With the Celtics up one, Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard had the ball in transition, tearing up the left facet of the ground.
Vacation lower him off, however misplaced his steadiness. Nembhard dribbled behind his again, however took an additional beat to get his dribble going ahead once more, permitting Vacation to get better and lower him off once more, this time going proper towards the center of the paint. As he stopped Nembhard’s ahead momentum, Vacation reached and took the ball away.
“I really feel like he’s a right-hand driver,” Vacation stated of Nembhard afterward. “He’s been very, very aggressive all evening. Nice participant, had an ideal recreation. However I simply made a play. I form of jumped his proper hand and obtained the steal.”
The Celtics have managed to outscore the Pacers in transition in every of the final two video games. And the distinction in Sport 3 was the most effective examples of particular person transition protection you’ll ever see.
2. Celtics embrace the deficit
Previous to Sport 6 of the convention semifinals collection between the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder and Dallas Mavericks (Could 18), groups had been 2-44 in these playoffs after they trailed by at the very least 15 factors. Since then, they’re 4-2, together with highway comebacks from 18 factors down on every of the final two nights.
For the Celtics, perhaps an 18-point deficit on Saturday was factor. They haven’t been examined a lot within the postseason, and the 2 earlier occasions that they had been down (Sport 2 vs. Miami and Sport 2 vs. Cleveland), they hadn’t been in a position to reply.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla had seen different groups come again from double-digit deficits within the final week. Why not his personal?
“Being down 10 on the highway in a playoff recreation,” he stated afterward, “shouldn’t be something apart from normalcy.”
And perhaps he loved this type of victory greater than the dominant, 16-point win of two nights earlier.
“As soon as we embraced the truth that we had been down double-digits on the highway in Sport 3 in opposition to Indiana,” he stated, “I assumed it was fairly enjoyable.
“I like the method that we took. I liked the mindset that we had. I assumed we executed effectively on each ends of the ground and we made the performs that had been essential to win. That’s how video games are gonna go. You might have to have the ability to win in several methods. You might have to have the ability to get via sure stuff. And I assumed our guys did an ideal job getting via it.”
By way of the primary two rounds, the Celtics had performed simply 79 complete seconds of “clutch time,” the place the rating was inside 5 factors within the final 5 minutes of the fourth quarter. On this collection, they’ve performed greater than 12 minutes of clutch time, needing to come back again from eight factors down with lower than two and a half minutes to go in Sport 3.
3. Pacers swap, Celtics get shifting late
Mazzulla stated that he favored his crew’s offensive course of all through the sport and that it was on protection the place they confirmed dramatic enchancment over the past 18 minutes.
Statistically, he’s proper. However down the stretch, the Celtics additionally performed with higher intent offensively.
With Haliburton out, the Pacers had been switching extra screens than they did in Video games 1 and a couple of. That flattened the Celtics’ offense out a bit, forcing them to be a bit extra stagnant, play later within the shot clock and take some more durable pictures.
Indiana wasn’t afraid to have T.J. McConnell or Turner swap onto Boston’s stars …
Different defenders would shade towards the ensuing isolations, however that typically resulted in robust pictures with little time remaining on the clock …
The Celtics didn’t maintain settling, although, they usually had some nice intent as they scored on seven straight possessions down the stretch.
Al Horford took benefit of a post-switch mismatch in opposition to McConnell. Then Vacation actually sparked some nice possessions.
After handing the ball off to White, he rapidly rolled to an open layup. He then attacked a seam in transition, creating an open 3 for Jayson Tatum.
The Celtics had been nonetheless down two with lower than a minute to go, and the Pacers seemingly did job of getting again in transition after Pascal Siakam missed on a drive. However Vacation took Tatum’s cross on the suitable wing and didn’t hesitate, attacking Siakam within the restricted space, drawing a foul, and ending together with his left hand …
He made the free throw to offer the Celtics their first lead for the reason that first 10 seconds of the second quarter.
4. A serious distinction from past the arc
One other huge play in that stretch was a wide-open nook 3 from Horford off an unimaginable, behind-the-back cross from Tatum.
Whereas the Pacers had been switching and flattening the Celtics out, Tatum (36 factors, eight assists, zero turnovers) was the one man that would bend the protection. And Horford was usually the beneficiary, setting screens and popping into open area. The 37 yr previous, nonetheless in search of his first championship in his seventeenth season, scored 23 factors, capturing 7-for-12 from past the arc.
His seven 3s had been a profession excessive (1,258 complete video games, common season and playoffs mixed) and two greater than the Pacers made as a crew in Sport 3.
The Celtics’ 16-for-46 (35%) mark from 3-point vary was worse than the league common, however these 46 3-point makes an attempt accounted for 55% of their complete pictures and had been greater than twice as many because the Pacers (5-for-22) tried.
The Pacers had been a plus-28 within the paint on this recreation, however the Celtics had been a plus-33 from past the arc. There have now been six video games in these playoffs the place one crew has made at the very least 10 extra 3-pointers than its opponent. The Celtics have been concerned in 4 of these six video games (the primary three had been within the first spherical vs. Miami), successful three of the 4.
The Pacers had some beauty. Rookie Ben Sheppard, who obtained the beginning in Haliburton’s place, obtained some nice ones. However after capturing 18-for-38 (47%) from 3-point vary via the primary two rounds of the playoffs, he’s 0-for-9 on this collection.
5. Pacers get funky with ultimate play, however can’t join
The Pacers didn’t must match the Celtics from past the arc. They only wanted three extra factors after the Celtics went up three after Vacation’s steal and ensuing free throws.
And Pacers coach Rick Carlisle obtained inventive in his timeout with 1.7 seconds left. He had 4 guys line up within the backcourt, nearly like they had been soccer receivers in a fourth-and-long state of affairs.
Doug McDermott screened Aaron Nesmith’s defender, permitting Nesmith to run open to the close to nook, however his fadeaway 3-pointer fell brief on the buzzer.
Mazzulla had seen the formation earlier than, however the offensive crew can run totally different patterns out of it each time.
“It’s a very good play,” he stated. “It’s unpredictable.
“That was positively exhausting to protect. They obtained shot off. A few of it’s luck, too. If that shot goes in, we’re having a very totally different dialog.”
As it’s, the Celtics can end this collection in Sport 4 on Monday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).