The Boston Celtics rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat the Indiana Pacers 114-111 and take a 3-0 lead in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.
Game 4 will be played in Indianapolis on Monday, but no NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven playoff series.
Despite missing star guard Tyrese Haliburton with a hamstring injury, the Pacers led 84-66 with six minutes left in the third quarter.
They also led 109-101 with 2 minutes, 39 seconds left in the final quarter.
But Boston scored 13 of the game’s final 15 points to pull out the win.
Jrue Holiday’s 3-point play with 38.9 seconds left gave them a 112-111 lead, their first since the start of the second quarter.
The Tigers then stole the ball from Andrew Nembard and made two free throws to extend their lead, but Indiana’s Aaron Nesmith’s three-point shot bounced off the rim just as the final buzzer sounded.
Holiday, a 15-year NBA player, was finally cleared to play 45 minutes before kickoff after spending most of the day in bed with a fever.
“I wasn’t feeling too good,” he said after finishing with 14 points, nine rebounds and three steals.
“I guess I just thought if I got a day of good rest or a good night’s sleep, I’d be better.
“It’s Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, so I wasn’t going to miss this game.”
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 36 points and also had 10 rebounds and eight assists, while Jaylen Brown added 24 points.
The Eastern Conference winner will face the Dallas Mavericks or Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA Finals, but Dallas leads the Western Conference series 2-0 going into Game 3 on Sunday.
