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'LETS GOOOOOO' - Fans react as Boston Celtics beat Indiana Pacers to reach NBA Finals

Basketball: Boston Celtics clean swept Indiana Pacers 105-102 on Monday night to advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in three years.

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Varun Sarwate
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Boston Celtics (Source: X)

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Derrick White's tiebreaking 3-pointer with 43 seconds left gave Boston the lead, and Boston Celtics clean swept Indiana Pacers 105-102 on Monday night to advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in three years. 

Derrick White ended with 16 points. Jaylen Brown led Boston with 29 points, while Jayson Tatum added 26 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists to help them overcome a nine-point second-half deficit. Boston swept the Pacers, coming back from a 3-0 hole in last year's conference finals to force a seventh game. 

The Celtics will face the winner of the DallasMavericks Minnesota Timberwolves series. The Mavericks are ahead 3-0 and have the opportunity to win the series on Tuesday night. Indiana, which was missing two-time All-Star Tyrese Haliburton, dropped its second straight home game after coughing away leads in the last minute. 

Despite missing a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds, Andrew Nembhard finished with 24 points, 10 assists, and 6 rebounds. The Pacers never got the ball back after that. T.J. McConnell scored 15 points, Aaron Nesmith scored 14, and Indiana's Pascal Siakam finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Boston Celtics were dominating the game

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle predicted his squad would battle hard to prolong the season, and as usual, this youthful roster delivered. Tempers rose momentarily in the third quarter when Pacers center Myles Turner pushed down guard White, Brown grabbed Turner's shoulder, and Turner shoved Brown away.

Turner was penalized for an offensive foul, and he and Brown both received technical fouls. However, the back-and-forth nature of this game or series remained unchanged. Indiana lost three times despite having leads or being tied in the last minute, and it occurred again Monday when Boston rallied in three and a half minutes.

Tatum's slam with 3:12 left got Boston Celtics within 102-100, Brown's mid-range jumper knotted the game with 2:40 left, and White's three-pointer gave them the lead. In between, Boston forced two turnovers, and Brown blocked Nembhard's short shot near the basket with 1:05 left. Indiana had one more chance when Tatum missed a three with 8 seconds remaining, but Jrue Holiday grabbed the rebound and ran out the time before Indiana could foul.

Here are twitter reaction to the news:

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