INDIANAPOLIS -- The record books will show that the 2018-2019 Boston Celtics swept the Indiana Pacers, an indicator often of a series that was never really that close or competitive.
But these players know better.
Indiana gave the Celtics all they could handle for four games, with the difference being Boston’s ability to play their best in the closing moments, dominate play for a stretch in the second half or have someone besides Kyrie Irving step up in the clutch and deliver.
How close was it?
Despite Boston sweeping them, the Celtics only led after eight quarters, with six going to Indiana and two ending in a tie.
But the difference was when the Celtics won a quarter they absolutely crushed the Pacers in those 12-minute quarters.
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Here’s a game-by-game recap of the Boston Celtics’ four-game sweep of the Indiana Pacers.
GAME 1: BOSTON 84, Indiana 74
- In his first playoff game as a Celtic, Kyrie Irving had 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
- Jaylen Brown, in the starting lineup for Marcus Smart (oblique tear), limited Indiana’s top scorer Bojan Bogdanovic to just two points when guarding him.
- The Celtics’ Marcus Morris had 20 points off the bench along with seven rebounds.
- Indiana shot 2-for-19 in the third quarter, and were outscored 26-8 by Boston.
- Prior to Game 1, Boston was 0-9 this season when scoring less than 100 points.
GAME 2: BOSTON 99, Indiana 99
- Trailing 82-70 in the fourth quarter, Boston went on a 16-0 run while keeping the Pacers without a field goal for 7:54.
- Jayson Tatum, who had 26 points, scored or assisted on eight of Boston’s last 10 points as part of a 10-0 Celtics run to close the game.
- In the fourth, the Pacers shot 4-for-17 (23.5 percent) from the field compared to the Celtics who connected on 52.2 percent (12-for-23) of their shots in the fourth.
- Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 37 points along with seven assists and six rebounds.
GAME 3: Boston, 104, INDIANA 96
- The Celtics jumped on the Pacers from the outset, tallying 41, first-quarter points.
- Indiana roared back with a strong second quarter led by Tyreke Evans who had 12 points in the quarter to help give the Pacers a slim 61-59 at the half.
- A dreadful third quarter once again proved to be Indiana’s undoing as the Celtics outscored them 21-12 in the quarter while limiting them to just 5-for-23 (21.7 percent) shooting in the quarter.
- In the fourth, Indiana cut Boston’s lead to 88-87 only for Boston to respond with an 8-1 run with Kyrie Irving either scoring or assisting on seven of the eight points. He would finish the night with 19 points and 10 assists to go with five rebounds.
- Jaylen Brown, primarily focused on his defense against Bojan Bogdanovic in Games 1 and 2, made a huge impact as a scorer in leading Boston with 23 points on a near flawless 8-for-9 shooting.
GAME 4: Boston 110, INDIANA 106
- The Celtics opened the game with an 8-0 run, only for the Pacers to respond with a 17-9 run of their own.
- Gordon Hayward led Boston with 20 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter.
- Indiana’s defense did their best job of the series on Kyrie Irving who had 14 points on 4-for-13 shooting
- Flagrant-1 foul committed by Cory Joseph against Jayson Tatum sparked a 14-3 Celtics run.
- Marcus Morris provided another major spark off the bench for Boston, with 18 points - eight of which came in the fourth quarter.
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