Heartbreak is not the word to describe the pain the Pacers and their fans experienced after facing the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Pacers gave up Game 1. There’s no other way to say it.
Then in Game 2, Tyrese Haliburton aggravated a hamstring injury and sat out Saturday’s heartbreaking Game 3 loss in which Indiana blew an eight-point lead with 2:26 left.
The Pacers currently face a 3-0 deficit that no team has ever overcome in NBA playoff history.
If Haliburton misses Game 4 as expected, it’s hard to see a path beyond Memorial Day.
The Pacers gave Boston their all in Game 3 but still couldn’t pull off the win. In fact, Andrew Nembard scored a career-high 32 points and also had nine assists and four rebounds.
Additionally, Indiana got some great plays from Myles Turner and TJ McConnell.
Turner had 22 points and 10 rebounds, while McConnell had 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
The Pacers can’t expect to get that kind of production and efficiency out of that trio again in a series against Boston, who features the league’s best defensive guards in July Holiday and Derrick White.
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Plus, the Celtics survived Indiana’s 68-point, seven-rebound deficit in the paint, something that probably won’t happen again.
Boston should win this in a big way and advance to the NBA Finals.
Play: Celtics -7.5 (-115, ESPN BET)
