The Indiana Pacers were eliminated by the Boston Celtics from the Eastern Conference Finals in four games despite playing three incredibly close games.

The Pacers had at least a 90 percent win probability in the fourth quarter of Games 1, 3 and 4, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. 

"For a young team like us, this experience in the playoffs is second to none," said Andrew Nembhard, who finished with a team-high 24 points in Game 4. "A lot of our first times. A lot of little things we maybe wanted to do better and we learned how these games go and what being in a series feels like."

"I can tell you like, yeah, we're going to learn from it and it's going to happen, but it's not guaranteed," Siakam said. "I know how hard it is to get to this point. It's unfortunate. You want to give credit to the other team because they took advantage of every mistake that we made. They did well.

"But for us, it's been hard, like heartbreaking losses after heartbreaking losses. Yeah, you're going to be encouraged by it and you hope to put the right amount of work to continue to get better. Because we need to be a lot better if you want to compete with those teams. And understand it doesn't matter how good we played, we didn't get it done."

Kristaps Porzingis has been out since late April with a non-contact calf strain, but there is optimism he could be cleared to play in Game 1 of The Finals.

"There's definitely hope, there's definitely optimism," said Shams Charania of Porzingis.

"There are still some hurdles, I'm told, that he has to clear before he can play in Game 1 of The Finals."

Entering the Eastern Conference Finals, there was reportedly a chance that Porzingis could return during that series if it were to extend.

Game 1 of The Finals is on Thursday, June 6th at TD Garden.

The Boston Celtics are returning to the NBA Finals for the second time in three seasons. In 2022, they lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games after initially taking a 2-1 series lead. 

Boston has reshaped large portions of their roster over the past two seasons while Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are more developed players.

"We feel like we're a different team than we were last year and the year before that," Jaylen Brown said. "I know everybody wants to continue to kind of pigeonhole us to what was happening in the past but we've had a different team every single year, different coaches, we've had like three coaches in the last five years. And still people want to make it seem like it's the same, it's the same, it's the same.

"Time has gone by, experience has been gained and I think we are ready to put our best foot forward."

Jaylen Brown was awarded the Larry Bird Eastern Conference finals MVP after the Boston Celtics completed a sweep of the Indiana Pacers on Monday.

Brown averaged 29.8 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals for the series.

Brown received five out of nine votes, with Jayson Tatum getting the other four votes.

“He was unreal this whole series, a complete player on both sides of the ball that you don’t really see much these days,” said Derrick White of Brown. 

Basketball legend Bill Walton, who led the UCLA Bruins to two national titles before winning two championships during his NBA career, has died at the age of 71 after a prolonged battle with cancer.

Walton died Monday while surrounded by his loved ones, his family said in a statement released by the NBA.

"Bill Walton was truly one of a kind," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.

The Boston Celtics will have to attempt to close out their third consecutive series without their starting center. Kristaps Porzingis was ruled out for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals due to a strained right calf.

The Celtics lead the Indiana Pacers 3-0, which means Boston can afford to play it safe with Porzingis. He's been out since getting injured in Game 4 of the first round against the Miami Heat on April 29.

If Boston closes out Indiana in Game 4, their next game won't be until Game 1 of the NBA Finals on June 6. If the Pacers win, the series shifts back to Boston and Porzingis could play in Game 5 on Wednesday, May 29.

Both the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers had practice/walkthrough and film sessions on Sunday, ahead of Monday's Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. With Boston leading Indiana by a 3-0 margin, both sides expressed that Game 4 would be a battle.

However, neither side offered an update on the availability of two key players. Boston had no update on the availability of Kristaps Porzingis. He's been out due to a strained calf since midway through Game 4 in the first round of the playoffs. It was previously reported that the Celtics and Porzingis were targeting a return in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton missed Game 3 with a sore left hamstring. Haliburton reinjured his hamstring late in Game 2. Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said that there was no update as to his star guard's availability for Game 4.

Injury reports for both teams for Game 4 will come out later in the day on Sunday. Porzingis has been listed as out for each game to this point. Haliburton was initially listed as questionable, before being downgraded to out ahead of Game 3.

Host Danny Leroux talks with Jared Dubin of Last Night in Basketball about the playoffs and Fred Katz of The Athletic about the Knicks.

Dubin and Leroux discuss both Conference Finals series and other playoff takeaways. After that, the “Exit Interview” series continues as Katz joins to break down what happened to the Knicks’ season and where they go from here, including Jalen Brunson’s ascendance, their fascinating offseason and much more.

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Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday is questionable to play in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals due to a non-COVID illness. Holiday has been one of Boston's best players as they've taken a 2-0 series lead over the Indiana Pacers.

Holiday has averaged 21.5 points, five rebounds and nine assists per game in the Celtics two wins over the Pacers. Indiana has tried to put their lesser defenders on Holiday throughout the first two games, and Boston has played through the veteran guard repeatedly.

The Celtics have already ruled out starting center Kristaps Porzingis, as he continues to recover from a calf straight. Backup center Luke Kornet is doubtful to play, due to a sprained wrist. Tyrese Haliburton is questionable for the Pacers, due to a sore left hamstring.

After the Boston Celtics Game 2 win in the Eastern Conference Finals, Jaylen Brown was asked if he had extra motivation after not making the All-NBA team. Brown made it clear where his focus is.

"We're two games away from the Finals, so honestly I don't have the time to give a f---," Brown said.

Brown scored 40 points to lift Boston to a 2-0 series lead over the Indiana Pacers. The Celtics are now two games away from making their second NBA Finals in the last three seasons.

The lack of an All-NBA nod has no financial impact on the Celtics star. The projected five-year, $286 million extension Brown signed last summer was based on him making All-NBA during the 2022-23 season.