Holiday's Clutch Play Puts Celtics One Win Away From NBA Finals
The Boston Celtics owe their latest triumph to Jrue Holiday, who played a pivotal role in their victory against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday. This win places the Celtics just one game away from the NBA Finals. Holiday's crucial three-point play with 38 seconds left and a game-saving steal helped the Celtics overcome an 18-point deficit, securing a 114-111 win and a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
Indiana's Andrew Nembhard appeared poised to bring the Pacers back into contention late in Game 3. However, Holiday's timely steal thwarted those efforts. "That's a trademark steal that he always gets with the inside hand," said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. "He gets that a lot usually when a guy is coming down the sideline, but he got it in transition. He made a big-time play."
As Nembhard attempted to drive inside, Holiday anticipated his move. "He's a right-hand driver," Holiday noted post-game. "He'd been very, very aggressive all night." Despite Nembhard's impressive performance, scoring 32 points and providing nine assists, he couldn't outmaneuver one of the NBA's top defensive players. "I was trying to get a shot up," Nembhard explained. "He got in front of me. I lost the ball, slipped. Turnover."
Jayson Tatum also delivered an outstanding performance for Boston, contributing 36 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists without any turnovers in 44 minutes. However, Tatum directed all praise towards Holiday. "I mean, can't speak highly enough about Jrue," Tatum said. "The ultimate teammate competitor, obviously a champion, wasn't at shootaround today, he was sick. Dealing with chills and stuff like that."
Tatum continued, "And we've all been there, how tough that is, to fight through it, and for him to come out there and lay it all on the line for us, make the game-winning play essentially, especially on the defensive end. Jrue is just a big-time player, and he made a tremendous play."
The Celtics are now poised to clinch their second NBA Finals appearance in three seasons with a win in Game 4 on Monday in Indianapolis.
BIG love for the vet pic.twitter.com/0n4wxTPBZ7
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 26, 2024
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