We have our first sweep of the playoffs. This afternoon, the Celtics triumphed over the Pacers 110-106 to win the series in four games. We will do a game by game recap of this series, and then an overall conclusion at the end.
Game 1:
Defense, am I right? This game was a gritty, defensive affair. After Indiana was in control for most of the first half, Boston suffocated them in the third. The Pacers were held to merely eight points in the entire timeframe. Boston built a comfortable lead in that time and held on to the lead to win 84-74. Kyrie Irving and Marcus Morris led the Celtics with 20 points apiece. This game set the tone for the series and eradicated the notion that there would be high scoring affairs.
Game 2:
Probably the game of the series, this one was back and forth for much of it. The Pacers broke away in the third quarter, and were up by as much as 12, but the Celtics came out blazing in the fourth quarter and went on a 14-0 run. Jayson Tatum hit a clutch three pointer to put Boston up one with under a minute left, and made an and-one dunk to seal it. Tatum and Kyrie carried the load for Boston, with the former getting 26, and the latter amounting 37 points.
Game 3:
Like game two, this matchup was also extremely back and forth. The Celtics came out hot in the first quarter, and scored 41 points. They slowed down after that, and Indiana came back 15 points and led by two at the half. After yet another low scoring third quarter for the two teams, Boston iced the game in the fourth. They were led by Jaylen Brown, who had 23 on 8 of 9 shooting, and Kyrie, who had 18 and 10.
Game 4:
With the Pacers facing elimination, it was believed that they would play with all their energy and make sure they didn't lose in front of their home crowd. However, that was not the case, as they were only up two at halftime. Going into clutch time, it was pretty even, until Gordon Hayward caught on fire. Playing in his native Indiana, Hayward converted on an and-one layup and a three, which served as redemption after he got dunked on by Myles Turner. Hayward chipped in 20 points for the Celtics while Marcus Morris had 15 of his own.
Despite Boston winning convincingly in a sweep, their next opponent is likely the Milwaukee Bucks, who happen to have the front-runner for MVP. The Celtics will have to make sure everyone on their team in hot, because the Bucks are a much harder team to score against than the star-less Pacers.
Comments