The are once again heading to the NBA Finals. On Monday night, the Celtics completed their sweep of the in the Eastern Conference finals with a 105–102 victory at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Boston are champions of the Eastern Conference for the second time in three years.
The Celtics' last win to reach the finals was one of their toughest of the postseason, with Boston coming back from a 98–90 deficit with just six minutes left to play. According to star forward , Boston left it all on the floor to come out with the win. "By any means necessary," Tatum told ESPN's Lisa Salters after the game when asked how the Celtics were able to escape with the win.
"The close-out games are the toughest. They fought us hard to the wire. They’re a prideful team.
They didn’t want to give up. We just found a way. We got big stops, big rebounds, guys hit timely shots.
That was a hell of a win." Tatum went on to explain why close-out games can be so tough in the postseason, even when the Celtics entered the game with a 3–0 lead in the series. "They don’t want to go home," Tatum said.
"NBA players, they’re extremely good. It’s the playoffs. These games are the toughest.
It’s the most fun too." Celtics' Sweep of the Pacers Was Closer Than the Result Indicates While the history books will likely never remember a 4–0 series sweep in the conference finals as "close," the Pacers were in their series against the Celtics than the final record would have you believe. Had the Pacers played.
