INDIANAPOLIS — When Boston Celtics legend Cedric Maxwell read off Jaylen Brown’s name as the winner of the Larry Bird Trophy as Eastern Conference finals MVP, no one seemed more surprised than Brown himself.
“I wasn’t expecting it at all,” Brown said, with the trophy sitting next to him at the podium after Boston’s series-ending 105-102 Game 4 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night, before adding with a broad smile, “I don’t never win s—.”
But it was Brown who made a pair of plays in the final 65 seconds — first blocking Andrew Nembhard’s drive to the rim, then getting into the lane and kicking the ball out to Derrick White for what became the winning 3-pointer with 41 seconds to go, a shot that put Boston ahead for the first time since the opening possession of the second half — that allowed the Celtics to escape from this series with a sweep and return to the NBA Finals for a second time in three years.
“I’m just happy that we won,” Brown continued. “And give credit to Indiana, they played us tough. I know people think that Indiana wasn’t a good team or whatever the case may be, but I thought they were as tough as anybody we played all season. They were physical, they were fast, they put a lot of pressure on us. So shout out to them, and respect to them.”
The Pacers, playing for a second straight game without All-NBA guard Tyrese Haliburton, certainly gave Boston all it could handle. After leading the Celtics by as many as 18 points in the second half of Saturday night’s Game 3 before Boston stormed back and won in the dying seconds, Indiana took the lead in the second half Monday on a Myles Turner 3-pointer to open the third quarter and never trailed again until White’s corner 3 fell.
At that point, Nembhard — who was brilliant for a second straight game as Haliburton’s replacement, going for 24 points and 10 assists in 38 minutes — missed a game-tying triple of his own. Then, after Jayson Tatum — who finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists — missed a game-sealing 3 at the other end, Jrue Holiday gobbled up the offensive rebound for Boston, allowing time to expire and the Celtics to celebrate.
“It’s special,” Tatum said of advancing to the NBA Finals for the second time in his career. “Even though we’ve been there before, most of us have, you don’t take it for granted. We were excited.
“It was a hell of a team we just played, they made us earn every single game and we’re extremely grateful to move on to the Finals.”
It was a fitting victory for the Celtics, one that saw several players take their turns playing a part. Brown finished with 29 points and 6 rebounds, with his second half scoring barrage helping keep Boston in the game and eventually pull out the win. Tatum had a bucket and grabbed three defensive rebounds late after picking up his fifth foul midway through the fourth.
And then there was White who, despite going 1-for-8 to begin the game from 3, stepped up and hit the game’s biggest shot, to go along with five steals and three blocks.
