Celtics-Pacers Game 4 updates (2024)

The Boston Celtics are in the NBA Finals after defeating the Indiana Pacers 105-102 to complete a four-game sweep. Jaylen Brown led the way with 29 points en route to winning the Larry Bird Trophy as the series MVP, though his biggest play was an assist to Derrick White for a corner 3-pointer that put Boston up for good in the game's final minute.

The Pacers, playing without All-Star Tyrese Haliburton, put themselves in a position to win for the third time in four games this series, but again could not finish the job.

• Box score, stats and more.
• Full recap and four key takeaways from our writers on the scene.
• Steve Buckley column: ‘Different’ Celtics have more work to do, but so far, they’ve passed every test
• Jared Weiss: Why Jaylen Brown was surprised to win series MVP after leading Celtics to NBA Finals
• Jay King: Celtics head back to NBA Finals in more mature form: ‘We’re not satisfied’
• James Boyd: Pacers once tried to dump Myles Turner, who was a catalyst for a deep postseason run

INDIANAPOLIS — After Game 4, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle revealed that Myles Turner, who wore a brace on the sideline whenever he wasn’t on the court, got hit in the back early in the game and gutted through the pain. Carlisle provided that information unprompted, perhaps trying to protect Turner from the criticism that would follow his season-ending dud.

But Turner doesn't need protecting. He’s seen, heard and felt it all during his nine years with the Pacers, the only NBA franchise he's ever known. Through so much turbulence and change, Turner – the longest-tenured Pacer – has been the one constant. He takes pride in having weathered the storm and wouldnt allow a cloudy performance in the season finale to overshadow the brightest year of his career.

"This is the first time I’ve been out of the first round in my entire life," Turner said. "The history is all there. You go back to high school when I was at Euless Trinity (in Texas), I didn't get out the first round there. Everybody here obviously knows when I was at Texas, we lost to Butler in the first round. My first few years of my (pro) career, a couple Game 7s, a couple sweeps.

"It took me 28 years of my life to get to this point, and I just couldn't be more proud."

Turner has experienced seemingly every high and low in a Pacers jersey, all while serving as a bridge between eras and stars that never seemed to be able to get over the hump.

Read the rest of my story here.

INDIANAPOLIS — When Jaylen Brown heard his name, he was puzzled. As his teammates and coaches started grabbing him and cheering, he stood there stone-faced. The face you might see from Brown after a poster dunk or a game-winning 3.

The Celtics star has said he feels like he doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. His coach constantly talks about shedding those expectations.

So when he heard Celtics legend Cedric Maxwell announce him as the Eastern Conference finals MVP winner, it took him a second to process the honor.

Then he uttered two simple words, “Oh s—.”

“I wasn’t expecting it at all. I don’t never win s—,” Brown said as he sat next to the Larry Bird MVP trophy following the Celtics’ 105-102 win to sweep the Indiana Pacers and book a ticket to the NBA Finals. “So, I’m just happy that we won.”

It was that exact reaction that endeared him to his teammates. Brown sets individual goals, but he’s consistently insisted it’s only under the guise it helps the team.

“I think it’s even better because he didn’t expect it,” Jrue Holiday said. “That really means that (it) didn’t matter to him. It was about winning and whatever it took however long it took, that’s what was important. So I think when you have that mentality and that mindset and you see great people get rewarded for the things that they do, it just brings joy.”

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INDIANAPOLIS — This time, a trip to the Eastern Conference finals by the Boston Celtics ended without any clamoring from the public and the press box that the coach must go and, oh, by the way, let’s aim a wrecking ball at the roster.

This time, it ended with the Celtics emerging with a 105-102 victory over the Indiana Pacers Monday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to complete a sweep of the Indiana Pacers. Some rapid-fire play-by-play is required here, beginning with how the Celtics, trailing for most of the night, went on a late 10-2 run. Jayson Tatum made it 100-100 with a driving dunk, and then, ahem, series MVP Jaylen Brown tied it again, this time 102-102, with an 8-foot jump shot. Brown next delivered defense, blocking Andrew Nembhard’s would-be 3-pointer with 1:05 remaining.

And then? And then it ended, for all practical purposes, with Derrick White nailing a 3-pointer with 45 seconds remaining, this after the Celtics had rallied from an 8-point deficit with 5:56 remaining and a 5-point deficit with 4:14 to go.

Yes, White’s game-winner happened to fall on the first anniversary of his improbable game-winning buzzer-beater against Miami in Game 6 of last year’s Eastern Conference finals, but that’s just fodder for Trivia Night at the local sports bar, folks. In the real world, especially the real NBA, it means nothing. For these 2024 playoff Celtics are not those 2023 playoff Celtics, who rallied for three straight victories after losing the first three games and then got blown out in Game 7 at TD Garden. Nope, these Celtics are not those Celtics at all, a point that was made by Brown after the game when he said, “We have a different team every year, different coaches. We’ve had like three coaches in the last five years. And still, people want to make it seem like it’s the same, it’s the same, it’s the same. Time has gone by. Experience has been gained. And we are ready to put our best foot forward.”

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INDIANAPOLIS – The shot that saved Game 1, the steal and pass that sent the Boston Celtics to the NBA Finals.

That’s how Jaylen Brown won the Larry Bird trophy.

Brown scored a game-high 29 points to go with six rebounds, two assists and three steals in the Celtics’ narrow 105-102 win in Game 4 of the Eastern finals and was named series MVP by a panel of media members. The winner of the award gets the trophy named after the Celtic legend.

Brown can become one himself if he helps Boston win its record 18th NBA title in a couple weeks.

Read more here.

The longstanding question about the Celtics has been how they will execute at the end of close games. Their history of late-game freakouts, for lack of a better word, has stuck with them as a concern.

They owned crunch time throughout the Eastern Conference finals.

Once again, the Celtics found themselves in danger in the fourth quarter while trailing by as many as nine points in Game 4. T.J. McConnell had a great chance to put the Pacers ahead by 11 points three minutes into the quarter, but his missed layup led to a Jaylen Brown 3-pointer at the other end of the court. Though Indiana didn’t go away, Boston controlled the rest of the fourth quarter, piling up steals and blocks and doing just enough offensively. After missing a couple of opportunities after they pulled even, Brown found Derrick White in the corner for a go-ahead 3-pointer. Jrue Holiday sealed the game with an offensive rebound on the next Boston possession.

The Celtics pulled out two games earlier in this series after being in serious fourth-quarter trouble. In Game 1, Brown forced overtime with a corner 3-pointer in the final seconds. In Game 3, Boston needed a huge comeback after trailing by 18 points in the second half. Despite the sweep, the series was competitive all along. The Celtics found their way in close games, though. They could use similar crunch-time poise in the finals, but will have a tougher challenge likely against Luka Dončić, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks.

Jaylen Brown on stepping up as a leader:

"We had some guys leave, so I wanted to make sure that void was filled. Marcus Smart, one of my brothers, was traded, and I wanted to make sure to step in.."

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla spoke postgame about the impact of Al Horford, who turns 38 during the Finals:

"You can’t really put it into words," Mazzulla said. "I’ll try my best. He’s just a guy who is the best."

Derrick White spoke postgame on ECF MVP Jaylen Brown.

"I knew he was unreal when I got here, but the good thing about JB is that he’s gotten better every single year that he’s been in this league…A complete player that you don’t really see much these days."

Derrick White shouted out Jaylen Brown for driving and making the big play to find him for the game-winning 3.

"I just finally made a shot."

The Boston Celtics are heading back to the NBA Finals for the second time in three seasons, sweeping the Indiana Pacers and winning Game 4 105-102 on Monday in Indianapolis.

Jaylen Brown posted a game-high 29 points along with six rebounds, three steals and four 3-pointers to lead the Celtics. Jayson Tatum nearly had a triple-double, adding 26 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. Boston’s starting five combined for 95 of its 105 points.

Andrew Nembhard continued his offensive surge to lead the Pacers, finishing with team-highs of 24 points and 10 assists while adding six rebounds on 10-of-16 shooting.

The second-year guard averaged 28 points, 9.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds over the last two games with All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton sidelined with a left hamstring strain.

Game 1 of the NBA Finals will be played in Boston on June 6 against either the Dallas Mavericks or Minnesota Timberwolves.

Read more here.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle postgame: "We thanked our players a few moments ago for an amazing season, a magical season."

Carlisle adds that his team never made any excuses and commends his players for their fight.

"Expectations will be raised for next year."

The Pacers took a page out of the Celtics’ book with their hot 3-point shooting through three quarters Monday night. Indiana entered Game 4 trailing Boston 46-29 in made threes in the Eastern Conference finals, but matched the Celtics with 10 3-pointers in the first 36 minutes to take a 3-point lead heading into the final frame. Six different Pacers made a 3 through three quarters, including Myles Turner who drilled two 3-pointers early in the second half to put Indiana ahead by five points.

But the fourth quarter belonged the Celtics, punctuated by Derrick White’s go-ahead corner 3-pointer with 45 seconds left that proved to be the game-winner.

Boston’s timely 3-pointers shouldn’t come as a surprise considering it ranked No. 1 in the NBA with 16.5 made 3-pointers per game during the regular season. The Celtics also shot 38.8 percent from distance during the regular season, ranking No. 2 in the league. After shooting just 2-of-12 on 3-pointers in the third quarter, Jaylen Brown got the Celtics back on track with two 3s in the fourth quarter, and Jayson Tatum added another to keep the Pacers from running away with the game before Boston did what it’s done all series long: Win in the clutch.

White’s dagger three ripped the Pacers’ hearts out after fighting desperately to extend their season, which ended in the conference finals following their first appearance in a decade.

Flipping ahead to the likely NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks: the Boston Celtics defense had to go up against three offenses this postseason that were not exactly interested in iso-ball.

Per Synergy, here are the rankings in total isolation possessions (including passes) from the regular season of Boston's three Eastern Conference opponents:

• Miami Heat: 15th
• Cleveland Cavaliers: 22nd
• Indiana Pacers: 29th

That obviously doesn't even account for the fact that Miami was missing on-ball threats Terry Rozier and Jimmy Butler for the entire quarterfinals, while Donovan Mitchell and Tyrese Haliburton failed to finish the playoffs for Cleveland and Indiana respectively.

It will be a different game now for Boston against Dallas. The only teams that had more isolation possessions than the Celtics were the Mavericks and the league-leading LA Clippers, the team Dallas beat in the quarterfinals. The Clippers, Mavericks, and Celtics also were the three most efficient scoring teams in the NBA in isolation basketball.

Boston did well to execute against the ball movement, body movement, and pace of the offenses they faced so far this postseason. They are facing an entirely different challenge in the NBA Finals.

Celtics guard Derrick White told NBC Sports Boston that he was "due for one" with his go-ahead 3-pointer at the end of Game 4. He credited the pass from Jaylen Brown, who won the Eastern Conference finals MVP.

"It's not easy to get to the Finals," White said. "A lot of credit, a lot of respect to Indiana. It was a battle all four games."

Jaylen Brown wins the Larry Bird Trophy for Eastern Conference finals MVP.

Brown tallied 29 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists in Game 4, guiding the Celtics to the sweep.

The Celtics are heading to the Finals after another frantic finish to pull off one of the toughest sweeps this team has seen. The Pacers elevated their game in every way after losing Tyrese Haliburton, forcing Boston to hone its end game execution and defensive effort. Jaylen Brown’s scoring has carried the Celtics through offensive downturns and he did it again in the second half. But it was his big stop on Andrew Nembhard in the closing minute and then his drive through traffic to find Derrick White for the game-winner that defined Brown’s performance in this series.

The Celtics are going to face the Dallas Mavericks barring an unprecedented comeback, who play a different brand of basketball than Indiana but will be even more formidable in late-game execution. That was the one thing that doomed Indiana, as Boston’s defense and playmaking were the separators in this series. The Celtics have proven they know what they want to get into when the game is on the line and that they can elevate their defensive execution in those moments. Now they are four wins away from a title.

No one would have blamed the Pacers for throwing in the towel in Game 4. Down 3-0 in the series without their All-NBA point guard Tyrese Haliburton, the game could have easily turned into a blowout and the Celtics could have cruised to the NBA Finals. Instead, they competed and fought until the very last seconds of Monday's 105-102 Game 4 loss.

Andrew Nembhard was spectacular again for the Pacers with 24 points, six rebounds and 10 assists, but it wasn't quite enough as the Pacers saw their season end in Indianapolis. Pascal Siakam added 19 points and 10 rebounds to try to help keep the season alive and T.J. McConnell was once again spectacular off the bench, but it wasn't enough.

All postseason long, the Pacers were defined by their willingness to fight for every second of every game. That was no different in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Pascal Siakam isn't the only free-agent power forward Indiana needs to worry about re-signing.

After a breakout postseason, backup Obi Toppin's market is likely looking a lot different than it did six weeks ago. Fortunately for the Pacers, Toppin is a restricted free agent and they would have the ability to match any offer and Indiana's cap sheet is clean enough that it can likely pay market-rate contracts for both Siakam and Toppin.

And that's it. The Boston Celtics are advancing to the NBA Finals after rallying to win Game 4, 105-102.

Jrue Holiday's offensive rebound on a Jayson Tatum 3 sealed the game and allowed Boston to run the clock out.