At the Buzzer: R3G3 — Celtics 114, Pacers 111
At the Buzzer: R3G3 — Celtics 114, Pacers 111
After being down one after the 1st, the Pacers led the rest of the way — until the final 38.9 seconds. They were outscored 13-2 to close, spoiling Andrew Nembhard's career game. And now trail 3-0.
After dropping both games in Boston, just as they did the previous series with New York, the Pacers returned home to friendlier confines. To tip-off race weekend in Indy, it was Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on the eve of the Indianapolis 500.
The key storyline over the last 48 hours since the end of Game 2 was the health of Tyrese Haliburton. The Pacers’ All-NBA point guard suffered a re-injury of his left hamstring strain that bothered him all this season. He watched the finish of Game 2 in the locker room and then was seen limping out of the TD Garden.
As expected, he was not available. And you likely won’t see him in the rest of this series. That type of injury doesn’t just go away in a few days.
“He very much wants to play, desperately wants to play,” head coach Rick Carlisle said pregame. “But the decision on tonight was taken out of his hands earlier in the day. It was just determined that tonight was not an option. He is feeling better and we’ll see where he is on Monday.”
That’s a good thing because they can’t have a situation like in Portland where he came back too early and suffered a setback, especially since he’s been playing since August with Team USA.
So, the Pacers had to adapt without 20 points and 11 assists per game — and needed to win to keep hope alive.
The game officials were Marc Davis, John Goble, Courtney Kirkland, Justin Van Duyne (alternate)
Haliburton missed his first game since returning on Jan. 30, also against Boston.
The Celtics were without Kristaps Porzingis (right calf strain). He's missed nine of 13 playoff games, but could return for this series. And Luke Kornet was out — with his left wrist in a black brace.
The Celtics were favored by 7.5 points.
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🏀How it happened: The Celtics took the early lead, making their first six shots and then going ahead 24-15 midway through the first. Jayson Tatum scored 15 of his game-high 36 points in the quarter, including a pair of 3s, to help the Celtics to a 32-31 lead.
Myles Turner exited the game twice, first with low back soreness and then pain in his left foot, but he returned. The Pacers scored a quick six points to start the second frame and they grew their lead to 18 points. They were getting whatever they wanted inside the paint with little resistance; that’s where they scored 34 of their first 48 points, matching their entire total in the paint from Game 2. The Pacers shot 64% in the first half, had 20 assists on 24 field goals and dominated the glass (+11).
The Pacers tried to keep their foot on the gas, adding to their 12-point halftime lead, but the Celtics clamped down on what they allowed. They had eight of their 12 blocks in the third quarter, making everything difficult, and the Pacers missed all nine of their 3-point attempts. They ended the quarter on a high note as Doug McDermott checked in and his tip-in at the buzzer gave the Pacers a 90-81 advantage.
Aaron Nesmith dealt with foul trouble and was called for his fifth just a few minutes in. You could sense a run coming from this tested Celtics team, it was just a matter of time. Ultimately, they used a 24-9 run to get to within three and then the Pacers did a good job of fending them off. Nembhard made a tough jumper and then finally the team’s first 3-pointer of the half with 3:56 to play. T.J. McConnell (23 points, nine rebounds and six assists) were very productive off the bench in 30 minutes and he followed up with a 3-pointer and then a layup.
That put the Pacers up by eight with 2:38 to go. However, they failed to get stops late. Over the final four minutes, the Celtics scored on eight of their final nine possessions.
The Pacers still had a chance, down by one with about 10 seconds left. However, X-factor Jrue Holiday, who was questionable entering the game due to illness, swiped the ball from Nembhard as the Pacers chose not to use a timeout.
Holiday was then fouled, made both free throws, and the Pacers advanced the ball with a timeout. Nembhard, who was the only Pacer hitting from outside, inbounded to Nesmith and he missed an off-balance shot moving to his right.
This is another learning moment for the Pacers, who coughed up another playoff game. They had four players with at least 22 points, but they failed to finish. The Celtics kept them to 42 second-half points after 69 in the first half.
The home loss was the Pacers’ first in their last 12 games, dating back to mid-March.
🏀What it means: Despite the Pacers playing better in two of the three games, the Celtics have a 3-0 lead and will go for the sweep, just as they did in 2019, in Game 4.
🏀Turning point: The Pacers led 109-101 with 2:38 to go after a layup from McConnell. Then the Celtics outscored the Pacers 13-2 to close the game and held them without a field goal (0-4, one turnover).