INDIANAPOLIS -- Gordon Hayward and Marcus Morris took care of some housecleaning Sunday.
They dusted off their three-point shooting touch in time to help the Boston Celtics complete a clean sweep.
Hayward scored 20 points, Morris added 18 and the duo combined for 5 threes over the final 5½ minutes to give Boston a 110-106 victory and its first 4-0 series victory in eight years.
"I knew there was going to be a spark off the bench [on Sunday] and that person was Gordon Hayward," All-Star guard Kyrie Irving said. "This is his city. I'm glad he had a chance to put on a performance like that in a closeout game."
Just how rare is a sweep for a franchise with a league-record 17 titles?
Since 1986-87, the Celtics had done it just once -- in the first round against the New York Knicks. And between the Celtics' title-clinching sweep over the Minneapolis Lakers in 1958-59 and their perfect run through the 1985-86 Eastern Conference finals against Milwaukee, the Celtics achieved it just twice -- in 1979 against Houston and in 1980 against Chicago.
So when Coach Brad Stevens was asked Saturday about how he'd react if his players earned some time off, Stevens said he wasn't sure.
Now, last year's Eastern Conference runner-ups can start a new to-do list with a potential matchup looming against the top-seeded Bucks.
"It's going to take everything we have," Hayward said. "That's why it's good we finished this series. We can rest up, prepare, and have some extra time."
Clearly, the Celtics played better than a No. 4 seed in this series.
They won the first three games on the strength of a suffocating second-half defense that twice limited the Pacers to 12-point quarters and once to eight.
This time, they finished the job by grinding it out behind a group of polished veterans.
The game swung when Indiana guard Cory Joseph was called for a Flagrant 1 foul with 6:45 left. Jayson Tatum made both free throws to give Boston an 83-82 lead.
After Al Horford made 1 of 2 free throws on Boston's next possession, Morris knocked down a three and Hayward completed a three-point play to give the Celtics a 90-83 advantage with 4:15 to go.
Hayward and Morris were just getting started. Over the next three-plus minutes, they made three more threes to give Boston a 102-90 lead with 1:04 to go.
Even a final flurry of threes couldn't bail out Indiana.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 22 points and Tyreke Evans scored a playoff career-high 21 as the Pacers got swept for the second time in three years -- the only two times it has happened in franchise history.
"They got hot," Pacers forward Thaddeus Young said.
"They started making shots and we stopped making shots. That's one of the biggest thing that's haunted us through this whole series."
BOSTON (110)
Tatum 4-10 9-12 18, Horford 4-19 5-6 14, Baynes 1-1 0-0 2, Irving 4-13 6-7 14, Brown 5-9 1-2 13, Hayward 7-9 3-3 20, Theis 0-0 0-0 0, Morris 7-11 2-2 18, Rozier 4-6 1-2 11. Totals 36-78 27-34 110.
INDIANA (106)
Bogdanovic 6-14 9-10 22, Young 4-9 0-0 9, Turner 5-12 3-4 13, Collison 5-13 6-6 19, Matthews 1-7 0-0 3, Sabonis 6-9 2-4 14, Joseph 2-5 0-0 5, Holiday 0-1 0-0 0, Evans 7-18 4-4 21. Totals 36-88 24-28 106.
Boston..............21 26 26 37 -- 110
Indiana.............23 26 23 34 -- 106
3-Point Goals--Boston 11-28 (Hayward 3-3, Rozier 2-4, Morris 2-4, Brown 2-4, Tatum 1-3, Horford 1-6, Irving 0-4), Indiana 10-28 (Collison 3-6, Evans 3-7, Joseph 1-2, Young 1-2, Bogdanovic 1-3, Matthews 1-5, Sabonis 0-1, Turner 0-2). Fouled Out--Sabonis. Rebounds--Boston 43 (Horford 12), Indiana 43 (Young 9). Assists--Boston 18 (Irving 7), Indiana 18 (Collison 5). Total Fouls--Boston 23, Indiana 25. Attendance--17,923 (20,000).
RAPTORS 107, MAGIC 85
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Kawhi Leonard scored 34 points and Toronto beat Orlando to take a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Pascal Siakam and Norman Powell each scored 16 for the Raptors, who can advance with a home victory in Game 5 on Tuesday.
Toronto has now won three consecutive postseason games, only the third time that's happened in franchise history.
Aaron Gordon scored 25 for the Magic, making his first seven shots of the second half.
Evan Fournier scored 19 and Nikola Vucevic added 11 for the Magic, who committed 17 turnovers that became 21 Toronto points.
And now the Magic's season is squarely on the brink.
There have been 11 teams to successfully rally from a 3-1 series deficit in a best-of-seven NBA series, and of those, only three pulled it off by winning a Game 7 on the road.
So it's not impossible -- just highly improbable.
And with the way Leonard looked in Game 4, the Magic's hopes seem particularly slim.
The 2014 NBA Finals MVP made 12 of 20 shots, added six rebounds and scored his 34 points in 35 minutes. He was in total control on both ends, and the Raptors shot 53 percent -- a franchise record for a road playoff game.
Serge Ibaka scored 13 and Kyle Lowry had nine assists for the Raptors.
A flurry at the end of the first half, led by Leonard and Siakam, put Toronto up by double digits and the margin stayed there the rest of the way.
TORONTO (107)
Leonard 12-20 8-9 34, Siakam 7-14 0-0 16, Gasol 1-3 0-0 2, Lowry 3-8 1-2 9, Green 3-8 0-0 8, Powell 7-9 1-1 16, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Ibaka 5-6 2-2 13, Moreland 0-0 0-0 0, VanVleet 2-5 4-4 9, Lin 0-1 0-0 0, McCaw 0-0 0-0 0, Meeks 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 40-75 16-18 107.
ORLANDO (85)
Isaac 0-4 0-0 0, Gordon 10-17 3-3 25, Vucevic 5-14 1-2 11, Augustin 3-6 1-1 8, Fournier 8-16 1-2 19, Frazier Jr. 0-0 1-2 1, Iwundu 1-4 0-0 2, Martin 2-5 0-0 5, Birch 2-2 1-1 5, Carter-Williams 2-4 0-0 4, Ross 1-5 2-2 5, Grant 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 34-81 10-13 85.
Toronto..............28 30 24 25 -- 107
Orlando..............26 16 28 15 -- 85
3-Point Goals--Toronto 11-28 (Lowry 2-5, Leonard 2-5, Siakam 2-6, Green 2-6, VanVleet 1-2, Ibaka 1-2, Powell 1-2), Orlando 7-33 (Gordon 2-6, Fournier 2-8, Augustin 1-3, Ross 1-4, Martin 1-4, Iwundu 0-1, Carter-Williams 0-1, Vucevic 0-2, Grant 0-4). Fouled Out--None. Rebounds--Toronto 45 (Ibaka 8), Orlando 34 (Gordon 7). Assists--Toronto 23 (Lowry 9), Orlando 20 (Gordon 5). Total Fouls--Toronto 20, Orlando 19. Technicals--Toronto coach Raptors (Defensive three second). Attendance--19,087 (18,846).
Sports on 04/22/2019