INDIANAPOLIS — This timethe Boston Celtics’ trip to the Eastern Conference finals ended without any clamor from the crowd and press box that the coach had to surrender and, oh, by the way, let’s aim for a wrecking ball on 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. A quick play-by-play is needed here, starting 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 dunk, then, uh, series MVP Jaylen Brown tied it again, this time 102-102, with an 8-foot jump shot. Brown then defended, blocking Andrew Nembhard’s would-be 3-pointer with 1:05 left.
And then? And then it ended, for all intents and purposes, with Derrick White hitting a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left, this after the Celtics had recovered from an 8-point deficit with 5:56 left and d ‘a 5-point deficit at 4:14. go.
Yes, White’s game-winner fell on the one-year anniversary of his improbable buzzer-beater against Miami in Game 6 of last year’s Eastern Conference finals, but that’s just fodder for the Trivia night at the local sports bar, folks. In the real world, especially in the real NBA, that doesn’t mean anything. Because these 2024 playoff Celtics are not these 2023 playoff Celtics, who won three straight after losing the first three games, then got blown out in Game 7 at TD Garden. No, these Celtics are not these Celtics at all, a point that was emphasized by Brown after the game when he said, “We have a different team every year, different coaches. We’ve had about three coaches over the last five years. And yet people want to give the impression that it’s the same, it’s the same, it’s the same. The time has passed. Experience has been gained. And we are ready to do our best.
GO FURTHER
The ‘different’ Celtics still have work to do, but so far they’ve passed all the tests
