Scalabrine: C’s ‘championship level performance’ in Game 3

Scalabrine: C’s ‘championship level performance’ in Game 3 originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics’ Game 3 victory over the Indiana Pacers wasn’t the prettiest, but it still might have been their most impressive postseason performance thus far.

After taking an early nine-point lead, the C’s gave up 18 points in the second quarter as they were pummeled by Indiana. The Pacers were virtually unstoppable inside the arc during the first two frames, shooting 69.4 percent on 2-pointers en route to a 69-point first half.

The Celtics woke up defensively in the second half, limiting Indiana to 18-of-47 (38.3%) shooting. They reduced the deficit and regained the lead late in the fourth quarter. Jrue Holiday’s clutch steal with seconds remaining sealed his 114-111 victory.

The exciting comeback leaves Boston one win away from a spot in the NBA Finals. Although it took the C’s 48 minutes to finish off an undermanned Pacers team, Eddie House came away pleased with his resilient effort.

“At the end of it all, the Boston Celtics are in a battle tonight and everyone is going to say, ‘Well, who were they playing? ‘They didn’t have (Tyrese) Halliburton out there,'” said the 2008 NBA champion on twitter. Celtics postgame live. “They’re going to make every excuse for the fact that we weren’t in a battle, right? Because everyone’s saying, ‘Well, the West is battle-tested.’ …

“This was a tough game and we persevered. We found our resilience, we showed up. And that’s why we picked Jrue Holiday. Let’s talk about it!”

Fellow analyst Brian Scalabrine joined House to talk about how the Celtics handled their business after losing double digits on the road.

“I would say this is a courageous victory,” he said. “You often think they are discouraged. They gave up a 3, they gave up a one and a one, they gave up on that, but they just kept going. … The Pacers played good basketball today. It wasn’t two teams limping to the end. The Celtics continued to answer the call. At some point you’re like, ‘Man, they’re going to come back in this game, TJ McConnell comes in, increases the lead to nine, chip? out, chip, chip… 15 to 4 to close the game and they win this game.

“This was a championship-caliber performance from start to finish. I only saw two or three lulls, those things happen in the game. I love the way they responded today to the adversity of being in Indiana to go up 3-0.”

Holiday’s heroics kept the C’s from spoiling stellar performances from Jayson Tatum and Al Horford. Tatum finished with 36 points (12-23 FG, 5-10 3-PT), 10 rebounds, eight assists, two blocks and one steal. Horford, 37, had 23 points on 7-of-12 3-point shooting, making him the oldest player to make seven 3s in a playoff game.

Boston will try to punch its ticket to the Finals on Monday night in Indiana. Reporting is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. and coverage starts at 7pm with Celtics pregame live on NBC Sports Boston.