The Celtics earned their second dramatic victory in their last three games against the Pacers on Saturday, taking a 3-0 series lead with a 114-111 victory in the Eastern Conference finals.
Here are the points to remember.
1. Jrue Holiday was questionable before tip-off as he suffered flu-like symptoms, but Joe Mazzulla was pretty sure he would go.
“He’s always ready to play,” Mazzulla said. “I knew he was going to play, just because I had confidence in him.”
Mazzulla’s optimism was not universally shared: Jayson Tatum noted that Holiday had not participated in the filming and was experiencing “chills” (symptoms which, incidentally, could have landed him in a multi-game quarantine earlier. about three years ago). Holiday worked a bit, finishing with 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting.
However, when the Celtics needed him, Holiday made one of the biggest defensive plays of the season thus far.
“It’s a trademark steal he always gets with the inside hand, he does it a lot when a guy is coming down the sideline, but he did it in transition,” Mazzulla said. “I was looking forward to a few.”
Holiday also converted a huge three-point play late in the fourth quarter, which pushed the Celtics – trailing by two at the time – into the lead for the first time since the fourth quarter. It capped a wild comeback from trailing 18 points in the second half.
In retrospect, it’s truly incredible that the Celtics were able to acquire Holiday this summer. Shortly before the season, there were very legitimate questions about the Celtics defensive backcourt after Marcus Smart. However, everything changed the day the Bucks traded for Damian Lillard.
Once it became clear that Holiday might become available, the Celtics wisely pursued him. On Saturday, he showed the defense the Celtics were hoping to have when they made this decision.
“The ultimate teammate, obviously a champion,” Jayson Tatum said. “(He) wasn’t at the shoot today, he was sick. Dealing with the chills and stuff like that. And we’ve all been there, how hard it is, to fight against that and for him to come out there and put everything on the line for us, basically make the winning play, especially on the defensive end. Jrue is just a great player, and he made a tremendous play.
2. Tatum has made some great plays himself. While we’ll get to Al Horford in a minute, who – along with Holiday – will grab headlines, Tatum put on a monstrous, multi-faceted offensive performance that included 36 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, two blocks and a steal, as well as one of the best passes (in one of the most important moments) we’ve ever seen thrown.
“That behind-the-back pass to the corner to Al, hook it in the fucking Louvre,” Jaylen Brown said. “Like it’s crazy.” We just had a great victory tonight.
Tatum also caught fire three times, which is a good sign, although he calmed down a bit as the match went on. The Celtics will be pretty tough to beat, even in the Finals, if Tatum starts cooking behind the arc.
3. Al Horford was even hotter – a fiery 7 of 12 from behind the arc, en route to 23 points. The Celtics picked him and opened him up once again, which has been a consistent theme in this series, and Horford made the Pacers pay this time.
“I’ve been very fortunate to still be in this position, to be able to play at this type of level, to be a part of a team like the Celtics and to really make sure that I’m doing everything I can to contribute to the team and I’m just grateful for this opportunity,” Horford said. “It’s pretty unique, pretty special, and that’s why I give glory to the Lord, because it’s very special. t’s not me and this position I’m in right now is very unique, and I’m very grateful for that.
4. The Celtics went small in Game 2 to great effect, allowing Oshae Brissett to step in and pick up the team’s speed. Brissett was less effective in Game 3, and he finished -6 with just one rebound and one blocked shot (and no basket attempts).
Xavier Tillman, however, played his first minutes in the rotation since he announced the death of his father earlier this week.
Tillman was solid in his 13 minutes, during which the Celtics outscored the Pacers by 12. His size gives them a more durable option against a player like Myles Turner.
“He has a knack defensively of being able to play both drop and switch,” Mazzulla said. “So we were able to change our coverages when he was out there pretty frequently. He can defend different matchups with his ability to play and drop and switch, and so he just gave us some versatility. And I really appreciate what he’s going through right now, just him being here and then being able to call on him and him delivering results for us says a lot about who he is as a person . So I appreciate him for that.
5. The Pacers built an 18-point lead thanks to some incredibly hot shooting inside the arc. They’re up 60.6 percent from two for the series, despite struggling in the second half as the Celtics held them to 21 points in consecutive quarters to turn around.
When asked about that shot postgame, Mazzulla gave a lengthy (and insightful) answer.
“I like to differentiate the percentage of two-pointers that were long twos versus transition twos versus layups versus paint twos,” he said. “That 60 percent can be a little misleading because some of the 2-point players we have to live with, because they’re good in other areas, especially with Haliburton, so we have to break that number down and understand it .
“They do a really good job of fighting to get the ball down lower and lower, which makes turnovers more difficult, and they do a really good job of counteracting our pressure on the ball by getting it down, like when of the first drive. The second drive goes a little further down. By the time you get to the third drive, it’s really hard to change that, and they end up already having one foot in the paint.
6. On a related note, we would just like to reiterate that Andrew Nembhard is a basketball player with a very bright future. He finished with 32 points on 12-of-21 shooting, and (unlike some no-name players in last year’s Heat series) his shooting/scoring appears largely sustainable (although it’s probably a little hot right now).
7. Sam Hauser’s struggles continued. He missed all three of his 3-point attempts, including a crucial one that would have tied the game in the fourth quarter. Instead, his miss resulted in a mini Pacers run that pushed the lead up to seven again.
Hauser’s struggles have been somewhat masked by his team’s success, which is good for now, but he will almost certainly have to pick himself up in the final. If he hits 3 points, he’s an essential piece capable of swinging a quarter or two (and therefore an entire game) on his own.
If he misses them, he doesn’t bring much quality play into the playoffs.
8. Much has been made of the Celtics’ lack of performance in the playoffs and their struggles in the regular season, which is absolutely fair. However, in this series, they got a key save, a last-second basket and a stellar overtime performance in Game 1, followed by Saturday’s impressive and crushing performance in Game 3.
The Celtics may not have answered all the questions, but they showed legitimate progress.
“I felt like in the first half it surprised us a little bit that we were down by that much,” Mazzulla said. “And I kind of told them, ‘Guys, this is going to happen, this might not be the last time we lose by double digits.’ So I liked the way we handled it, and it was just a test of mindset and toughness, and I thought the guys did well.
9. Could Kristaps Porzingis return for Game 4 to knock off some rust and help the Celtics punch their ticket to the Finals? We still don’t know, but if Adrian Wojnarowski’s reporting was accurate, Porzingis might have a chance to return as the Celtics look to close out the series.
10. Game 4 will take place in Indiana on Monday at 8 p.m.
If the Celtics win, they are back in the Finals.
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