BSJ Game Report: Celtics 114, Pacers 111 - Holiday leads clutch comeback to take 3-0 lead

INDIANAPOLIS -- Everything you need to know about the Celtics Game 3 win over the Pacers, with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

Jayson Tatum came out hot in the first quarter and the Celtics piled up the points, but the Pacers were relentlessly attacking the basket and they were able to keep it a one-point game. The Pacers kept up the hot shooting and took it a step further in the second quarter, hitting 68% and getting 17 from Andrew Nembhard to take a 12-point halftime lead. Boston cut it to nine with a late third quarter run, and they made multiple runs to cut the lead down further, all of which were answered by the Pacers. The Celtics finally broke through with a 13-2 run over the final 2:24 to finally take their first lead since the end of the first quarter and win the game. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Resilience: They weren’t playing their best game, and they had many chances to give up. Instead of packing it in, they executed down the stretch. They could have played better defensively, and we can argue they should have, but the Pacers were playing with a ton of energy and put a lot of pressure on the Celtics. It took a while, but they figured it out. 

“Give credit to Indiana, man. They came out and balled,” Jaylen Brown said. “Those guys played with so much pace. They didn't miss a lot of shots. They put a lot of pressure on us. They played fast, and they was tough. The first three quarters, we didn't really have any answers. But we kind of stayed close enough. Kind of stayed with it close enough. Then in the fourth quarter, they finally slowed down and we was able to get some stops, and we pulled one out of the hat."

- Holiday’s big play: He had nine fourth quarter points, including the last five Celtics points of the game, but it was his steal with three seconds to go that sealed the game. 

“Man, that was unbelievable. That was an unbelievable play,” Al Horford said. “A guy like that coming full speed and having the instincts to do that. He is just -- his instincts, he’s a winner. Ultimately, that's what it comes down to. He's a winner … I'm so fortunate to be playing next to him. I don't take it for granted.”

Holiday was questionable to play before the game because he was sick. He skipped shoot around to try to sleep through whatever was bothering him and it paid off. 

And call me crazy, but was that steal the NBA version of the Malcolm Butler interception? I know that was the Super Bowl and this is a Conference Finals Game 3, but something about it ... maybe the collision before the theft ... made me think of that play.

- Tatum steps up: 36 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, zero turnovers, and a huge 3-pointer to start the final run with less than two minutes to play. And then there was … the pass. 

That's the most no-look pass I’ve ever seen. Did he even look at Horford once on that drive? 

“Jayson Tatum made some big time plays,” Brown said. “That pass behind the back to the corner. Al, hang it in the f---ing Louvre. Like, it was crazy.”

- One win away: They're up 3-0 and have a chance to get back to the Finals on Monday. They stayed perfect on the road by beating the Pacers at home, their first home loss since the middle of March. 

TURNING POINT

The 13-2 run to close the game is the turning point, but I’m also impressed with how Boston went toe-to-toe with Indiana for the few minutes that preceded that. The Pacers scored four straight buckets and Boston answered them all to stay close. That allowed the turning point to happen.

THINGS I LIKED 

- Grit: This team has been maligned for not coming through in close games. In a year full of games they wouldn’t have won in the past, this one stands out as one they’d have punted. 

“They brought it. They kept bringing it,” Al Horford said. “For us, my whole thing was like let’s just keep playing. Let’s keep playing, let’s stay with it. I feel like Joe was trying to do anything and everything he could to get us going. And it was hard, and it’s hard to win on the road. I give the group a lot of credit, because those things don’t happen for us in the past. It hasn’t been good. And our group understands the opportunity that we have in front of us. And we really wanted to give ourselves the best chance tonight, and we didn’t waver. We just continued to play hard.”

- Jrue Holiday: This is what championship experience looks like. He was definitely sick, and there was some concern that he’d miss the game. But Holiday found a way to will himself onto the floor. 

“Yeah, I didn't feel too well,” Holiday said. “But, I guess I just figured if I got a good day's rest or tried to sleep through it, that would help me for tonight. But it's Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, so I wasn't going to miss this game.”

- The Jays: 60 combined points for Tatum and Brown on 22-41 shooting and only one turnover between them. 

- Al Horford: He was 7-12 from 3, which is massive on a night Holiday and Derrick White went 3-14. That's a combined 38.5% from the three of them. I don’t care how they get there, but that's a number we’ll take from those three on 26 attempts.

Once again, Horford got all the clean looks and he buried them. 

- Xavier Tillman: The Oshae Brissett minutes didn't have the same impact as Game 2, so Tillman got the call and he delivered a solid performance. 

“We were able to change our coverages when he was out there pretty frequently,” Joe Mazzulla said. “He can guard different matchups because of his ability to play in drop and in switch, and so he just gave us some versatility. And I really appreciate with what he's going through right now just him being here, and then the ability to call on him and him deliver for us just says a lot about who he is as a person. So I appreciate him for that.”

Tillman was a team-best +12 in Game 3.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Sam Hauser: I thought that 3 he missed that would have tied the game at 96 was going to cost Boston the game. He has not hit a 3-pointer this series after only hitting three against Cleveland. That last one he missed wasn’t even close. He is in a big-time funk and he needs to snap out of it. 

- The first half defense: Indiana shot nearly 64% from the field in the first half, compared to 38.3% in the second half. Boston finally started picking the ball up sooner, and that was able to cut down on the easy shots. 

“They do a really good job of fighting to get the ball lower and lower which makes it harder to switch, and they do a really good job of counteracting our ball pressure by getting it low,” Mazzulla said. “In the first half, we didn’t have great ball pressure, and they were able to get it lower, lower, lower, and in the second half, we picked up our ball pressure, and they couldn’t get it as low as they wanted to, and we were able to have better shifts.”

The Pacers couldn't miss in the first half. They got everything around the rim and finished with 68 points in the paint. That's ridiculous. 

HIGHLIGHTS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Why did anyone expect anything different?

I don’t know what other people (mostly outside of Boston), saw in Games 1 and 2, but I didn’t see an offense solely dependent on Tyrese Haliburton. He made the Pacers better with his ability to do spectacular things, but this system isn’t centered on Haliburton. It’s a chaotic, unpredictable, style which Haliburton enhances. 

I’ve been screaming since the end of Game 2 that this would be a tough game because of that. This is not an easy team for Boston, or anyone, to defend. If anyone thought something other than what we saw happen was coming, then they weren’t paying attention. 

Next up: The Celtics have a chance to wrap up the series on Monday night here in Indy.