Celtics rally late to push Pacers to brink of elimination in NBA playoffs
Al Jazeera
A combined 60 points from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown helped Boston steal Game 3 on the road in Indianapolis.
The Boston Celtics, fuelled by 36 points from Jayson Tatum, erased an 18-point deficit to beat the Indiana Pacers 114-111 and take a commanding 3-0 lead in the NBA Eastern Conference finals.
Tatum added 10 rebounds and eight assists, Jaylen Brown scored 24 points and the Celtics found a way to slow down Indiana’s high-octane offence in the second half to snatch the win in Indianapolis, where they will try to close out the series on Monday.
“Closeout games are the hardest,” Tatum said after the game on Saturday, cautioning that the Celtics cannot afford to relax despite the fact that no NBA team has rallied from 0-3 down to win a playoff series.
Indiana, who were unbeaten in six prior home games this postseason, came out determined to avoid the 0-3 hole despite the absence of All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton, who aggravated the left hamstring strain that troubled him this season in Game 2.
Andrew Nembhard, taking over at point guard, scored 32 points and handed out nine assists and Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner scored 22 apiece for the Pacers, who pushed their lead to 18 in the second quarter and again in the third.
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