Gordon Hayward had a team high 20 points Sunday afternoon as the Boston Celtics defeated the Indiana Pacers 110-106 in game four of an Eastern Conference first round NBA playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Celtics sweep the best of seven series 4-0 to advance to the semifinals.
Boston scored the first eight points of the game for their biggest first quarter lead, but Indiana took back as much as a five point advantage and led 23-21 after one. The Celtics used a 13-2 run to begin the second capped off by a Terry Rozier three pointer to take back a 34-25 lead, but the Pacers responded and took back a 49-47 lead at halftime on two late free throws by Darren Collison.
Indiana led most of the third quarter and by as many as seven, before Al Horford tied it up with a tip in with 2:54 left, and took a one point advantage into the fourth quarter on two free throws from Marcus Morris with 25 seconds left. With the score even at 82-82 and 6:45 left, Boston opened it up with a 16-5 run over the next 3:56 to take a 98-87 lead on a Morris three pointer. The Celtics made 8-10 from the foul line in the final minute to help salt away the win.
Along with the 20 points from Hayward, Morris and Jayson Tatum also had 18 points a piece for Boston, also adding eight rebounds each. Horford and Kyrie Irving had 14 points each, with Horford adding 12 rebounds and five assists and Irving adding seven assists. Jaylen Brown had 13 points and six rebounds, while Rozier added 11. Bojan Bogdanovic led Indiana with 22 points and eight rebounds. Tyreke Evans had 21 points. Collison finished with 19 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Domantas Sabonis had 14 points and eight rebounds, while Myles Turner added 13 points and seven rebounds. The Pacers finish their season with a record of 48-38.
Boston is now 53-33 and will await the winner of the Milwaukee-Detroit first round matchup for a second round best of seven series. The Bucks lead that series 3-0.
