The Indiana Pacers failed again, and the Boston Celtics are back in the NBA Finals for the second time in the last three years.
Derrick White's 3-pointer with 45 seconds to go gave the Celtics a 105-102 lead that they wouldn't relinquish until the final seconds of the game, while the Pacers lost another lead in the fourth quarter, going unscored in the final 3 minutes and 33 seconds of Monday night's game.
It was a clean sweep for Boston, and Celtics fans and pundits were impressed with their performance down the stretch.
The Pacers had a chance to tie the game on their ensuing drive, but Andrew Nembard missed a tying three-pointer. The Celtics then got the ball back with about eight seconds left, but Jayson Tatum also missed a three-pointer. Boston ran down the offensive boards to run out the clock and end the series.
Jaylen Brown was the team's leading scorer with 29 points, along with six rebounds, three steals and two assists. Tatum added 26 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. Nembard led Indiana with 24 points and 10 assists.
The Pacers, without star point guard Tyrese Haliburton for the second straight game, led by as many as nine points in the fourth quarter but again couldn't catch up.
In Game 1, the Pacers had a disastrous final minute, missing multiple chances to end the game before Brown hit a spectacular 3-pointer to tie the game with just seconds left. Boston won in overtime behind Tatum's 10 points in the final frame.
The Pacers led by as many as 18 points in Game 3, but again couldn't close out the win. Their inability to handle late situations ended their season.
That was reflected in the Western Conference Finals, where Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving put the Dallas Mavericks up a 3-0 lead with some tough performances late in the game.
