The Boston Celtics have nearly clinched their spot in the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs with their 104-96 win over the Indiana Pacers tonight.
Boston came out firing on all cylinders in the first quarter, dropping 41 in the first shooting 8/10 from behind the arc. The Celtics offense seemed unstoppable until the second when the Pacers held them an 18 point second, where Indiana scored 33.
The game took a complete turn coming out of the second half, going from an offensive transition battle to a slow defensive game. The Celtics scored 21 in the third and held the Pacers to 12 points in the quarter.
It was a tight game the entire fourth, but point guard Kyrie Irving’s experience in the playoffs showed with a huge defensive steal on forward Bojan Bogdanovic, following it up with a crafty score on the other end. The Celtics outscored the Pacers 24-23 in the fourth, securing the 3-0 lead over the Pacers in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
Celtics forward Jaylen Brown led the scoring for the Celtics with 23 points, shooting 8-9 from the field and 4-5 from three. Irving, Jayson Tatum, and Al Horford all tallied double-digit points with 19, 18, and 16 from the three Celtics.
The Celtics look to sweep the Pacers in Game 4 on Easter Sunday with a 1 pm tipoff.
