INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Derrick White stood calmly in the middle of the court as his teammates celebrated their victory Monday night.
He saw Jayson Tatum throw the ball high. Al Horford ran toward the coaches' group looking for his son long before Jaylen Brown hoisted the Eastern Conference Finals MVP trophy, and coach Joe Mazzulla shared the moment with his wife.
Meanwhile, White appeared ready to get back to work after he hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 43 seconds left to lead the Boston Celtics to a 105-102 victory, beating the Indiana Pacers 4-0 and booking their second NBA Finals appearance in three years.
“Great shot. Two-on-one reads, we work on that all the time,” Brown said after finishing with 29 points, six rebounds and blocking a key shot with 65 seconds left to protect the lead. “I told D. White to be ready beforehand, but that was a big shot. That was a big shot to get us to the finals.”
White finished with just 16 points and made just 1 of 8 3-point attempts. before firing a decisive shot from the corner. Until then, he had looked behind Brown, Tatum (26 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists), July Holiday and even the 37-year-old Horford.
But when the Celtics needed points to try to win their 18th NBA title in franchise history, a composed White made a shot that will be forever remembered in Boston, where the Celtics will face either Dallas or Minnesota in Game 4 on Tuesday.
The Mavericks lead 3-0 in the best-of-seven Western Conference Finals.
“We feel confident, we feel comfortable playing any type of matchup and we feel like we have an answer for any opponent,” White said. “We just have to find the right answer.”
Boston's win came exactly one year after White's tip-in helped the Celtics rally from a 3-0 deficit to tie Miami in the conference finals, only to lose Game 7 at home. Boston has won seven straight playoff games this year, is 6-0 on the road and 3-0 in elimination games.
It was never going to be easy against the Pacers, who were a perfect 6-0 record on their home court before ending the season with two straight losses at a packed Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Indiana had lost the series three times despite leading or being tied in the final minute, and that happened again Monday when Boston was shut out for the final 3 1/2 minutes.
Coach Rick Carlisle promised the team would fight hard to extend their season, and as always, this young roster did not disappoint.
In the third quarter, Pacers center Myles Turner tackled guard White to the ground, and Brown, the reigning Series MVP, grabbed Turner by the shoulders, leading to a brief emotional exchange between the two teams when Turner shoved him. Turner was called for an offensive foul and Brown and Turner were each assessed technical fouls.
There was another scary moment. When Brown's hand hit TJ McConnell in the face He fell to the ground, and after reviewing replay, the officials ruled it a routine foul, but the two brawls didn't change the tone of the game or the series, and the Pacers never backed down.
“The guys bought into it,” Carlisle said of his team's effort without Haliburton and throughout the playoffs. “You have to give them credit for what they did at the end of the last two games. They just made more plays.”
Andrew Nembard had 24 points. He had 10 assists and six rebounds, but missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer late in the game and the Pacers didn't get the ball back after that. Pascal Siakam added 19 points and 10 rebounds for Indiana, while TJ McConnell added 15 points and Aaron Nesmith added 14 points.
But the Celtics regained the upper hand late in the game.
Tatum's dunk with 3:12 left put the score at 102-100, Brown's mid-range jumper tied the score with 2:40 left, and then White's 3-pointer gave them the lead.
Boston forced two turnovers in between, and Brown blocked a short Nembard shot at the rim with 1:05 left. Indiana had one more chance when Tatum missed a 3-pointer with 8 seconds left, but Jrue Holiday chased down the rebound and ran out the clock before Indiana was fouled.
“They fought us hard until the end. They have a lot of team pride. They didn't want to give up.” Tatum said with relief. “I missed rabbits all night. I knew one day I would catch one. That was my big chance.”
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