INDIANAPOLIS — After Jrue Holiday grabbed the final, clinching offensive rebound, after the Celtics ran out the final seconds by playing some keep-away, Jayson Tatum made one final pass, hurling the basketball underhand as high as he could possibly hurl a basketball.
This tense Eastern Conference finals had somehow ended in a four-game sweep, with the Celtics overcoming an 8-point deficit in the final six minutes and getting a clutch 3-pointer from Derrick White in the final minute to secure a 105-102 win Monday night over the Pacers.
“We just wanted to stay the course,” White said. “They’re going to make runs and do what they do. We just had to stay the course.”
Boston advances to the NBA Finals for the second time in three years.
They will face the winner of the Western Conference finals, which the Mavericks lead over the Timberwolves, 3-0. Game 1 of the Finals is set for June 6 at TD Garden.
Even though history will remember this 4-0 result, the truth is it turned into an agonizing series for the Pacers, who had wonderful chances to win Games 1, 3, and 4, but ultimately lost them all, with the Celtics providing evidence that they are positioned to claw out close games if that is what is required.
“I think the guys did a great job staying present and embracing the moment,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.
Tatum had 26 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists for the Celtics, and series MVP Jaylen Brown scored a game-high 29 points.
Andrew Nembhard had 24 points to lead the Pacers, who were once again without star Tyrese Haliburton (hamstring).
Neither team held a double-digit lead. But the Pacers, who trailed by 1 at halftime, had an excellent chance to grab the first one with 8:35 left in the fourth, when they had generated plenty of momentum. But T.J. McConnell missed a simple layup and Brown capitalized at the other end with a 3-pointer.
The Pacers pushed back one Celtics rally and took a 102-98 lead on a Pascal Siakam floater with 3:33 left. But Indiana would not score again. Tatum surged to the lane for a dunk and Brown converted a floater, and with the score tied at 102, Nembhard raced to the rim and had his layup attempt blocked by Brown with 1:05 remaining.
At the other end, Brown kicked the ball to White in the right corner. White, who was 1 for 8 from beyond the arc up to that point, calmly drilled this one, and those turned out to be the final points of the series.
“I got a good look,” White said, “and just wanted to stay in the shot and knock it down.”
Nembhard missed a potentially game-tying 3-pointer with 34 seconds left. Tatum’s clinching shot was off, but Holiday, one of the unsung heroes of this series, swooped in for the rebound and the Celtics ran out the final seconds.
Observations from the game:
⋅ Sam Hauser checked in midway through the first quarter and dropped to 0 for 10 from beyond the arc in the series when he missed an attempt from the right corner soon after. He finally ended the drought when he connected for one from a similar spot about a minute later, but then missed his first three second-half attempts.
⋅ In the first half, the Celtics ended both quarters in frustrating fashion. The Pacers inbounded the ball with just 4.9 seconds left in the first and McConnell put some pressure on Boston’s defense before Al Horford reached in and used the foul to give with 2.6 seconds left, a smart play. But that didn’t stop McConnell from taking another inbounds pass and slicing to the rim for a layup at the buzzer. White gave the Celtics a two-for-one chance in the second when he fired up a shot with 32 seconds left. But the Pacers quickly flipped that miss into their own two-for-one, with Aaron Nesmith drawing a foul at the 27.7-seconds mark. After Holiday gave Boston a 58-55 lead with 6.4 seconds to play, the Pacers once again caught the defense on its heels and got a buzzer-beater by Nembhard to pull within 1 at the break.
Indiana nearly added a third buzzer-beater to its tally, but McConnell’s running 3-pointer at the end of the third came just after the final horn.
⋅ All-Defense Derrick made a loud appearance Monday. White had four steals and three blocked shots through the first three quarters. He was everywhere.
⋅ Tatum isn’t really a classic playmaker. A lot of assists come when he finds an open man out of a simple double-team. But he probably doesn’t get enough credit for his general awareness. During one second-quarter sequence, White lobbed a pass to Tatum at the elbow, and there were instantly two defenders in the space, with a third swooping over with a good angle for a steal. Tatum sensed this and immediately sent a tap-pass back to White, who used the advantage to get to the rim for a layup.
⋅ Brown’s free throw shooting continues to be an adventure. He entered Monday 43 for 67 in the playoffs and went just 1 for 4 in the first half, with some awkward misses. It’s still something to monitor as these playoffs progress.
⋅ Myles Turner made an unwise play with 3:33 left in the third quarter, when he wrapped up Hauser to take away a layup and picked up his fourth foul in the process. Hauser, an elite free-throw shooter, made both foul shots, and Indiana’s starting center was suddenly in serious foul trouble.
⋅ Payton Pritchard took a seemingly inadvertent kick to the face when he shook Isaiah Jackson with a pump fake and Jackson went flying in the air as Pritchard attempted to duck under him. There was no flagrant foul review, but Pritchard needed to have some blood cleaned up before play resumed.
⋅ Backup center Luke Kornet was cleared to return after missing Game 3 because of a sprained left hand. But he did not play, and Oshae Brissett’s number was not called during the first three quarters, either, with coach Joe Mazzulla turning to Xavier Tillman for several stints.
⋅ There were definitely more Celtics fans at Game 4 than at Game 3. There’s always a noticeable Celtics contingent here, with many fans converting when Indiana native Larry Bird became a Boston superstar.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.
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