Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Three stars from Saturday's NBA playoffs

By Eric Smithling | Last updated 5/26/24

The Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers played a second thriller in three games and once again, the Celtics prevailed, taking a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.

At one time trailing by as many as 18, the Celtics stunned the home crowd in Indiana by outscoring the Pacers 33-21 in the fourth quarter in their 114-111 win.

Here are three stars from Game 3 of the East finals.

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum | 36 points, 10 rebounds

The Celtics leader had a killer instinct in Game 3 as he pushed the Pacers to the brink of elimination. With his performance, Tatum now has the second-most playoff games with 35 points and 10 rebounds in Celtics history (five), trailing only Hall of Famer Larry Bird (10). He added five threes and eight assists without a turnover, becoming the first player in NBA playoff history to record that kind of box score.

Arguably, his best play came when he found center Al Horford for a corner three on a behind-the-back pass with 1:12 left in the fourth.

JAYSON TATUM BEHIND THE BACK PASS FOR AN AL 3 pic.twitter.com/4L4mticQE1
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 26, 2024

Celtics center Al Horford | 23 points, seven made three-pointers

Speaking of Horford, the 17-year NBA veteran set a playoff career-high in made threes during the win. He had his shot falling early, which kept Indiana from running Boston out of the building in the first half.

Quick +5️⃣ pic.twitter.com/n7sq7gUnE5
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 26, 2024

Before Horford's make to pull the Celtics within two late, he hit another three with 8:31 remaining to close the gap to 93-90, the closest the game had been to that point since the 8:44 mark of the second quarter (39-37), which not so coincidentally came off another Horford three-pointer.

Big Al 3 pic.twitter.com/OZwQt99okd
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 26, 2024

Celtics guard Jrue Holiday | Nine rebounds, three steals

Once again, Holiday's defense was the deciding factor in the Boston win.

JRUE HOLIDAY TURNS IT AROUND

The Celtics lead by 1 with 1.1 to play! pic.twitter.com/SnBawCmndh
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 26, 2024

His steal on Pacers guard Andrew Nembard with 3.1 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter effectively sealed the game, snuffing out Indiana's best chance of pulling off the upset.

Holiday's stout defense recalled the massive late turnover he forced on guard Tyrese Haliburton in Game 1 and was the culmination of a remarkable performance for a player who felt ill earlier in the day and missed the team's shootaround.

"I'm glad we got him," Tatum told ABC's Lisa Salters after the game when asked to describe Holiday's impact.

"Jrue's a hell of a competitor," he added. That drive is a huge reason why the Celtics are a win away from advancing to the NBA Finals.

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