Jaylen Brown scored 23 points and Kyrie Irving added 19 to help the Boston Celtics beat the host Indiana Pacers, 104-96, on Friday night for a 3-0 lead in the first-round Eastern Conference series. Irving also had 10 assists and 5 rebounds, and Jayson Tatum had 18 points and 7 rebounds for the Celtics, who can eliminate the Pacers on Sunday in Indianapolis. “We’re all making sure we’re giving each other confidence and doing the little things to ensure we win,” Irving said. “When you have that type of camaraderie, executing is a lot easier. Now that the stakes are higher, we’re settling into who we want to be.”Tyreke Evans matched his career playoff high with 19 points for Indiana, and Bojan Bogdanovic had 15, not enough to prevent the Pacers from losing their sixth straight to Boston in the regular season and the playoffs.

Source: New York Times April 20, 2019 01:53 UTC