Celtics stage late comeback to lead Pacers 3-0

The Boston Celtics came from 18 points down to beat the Indiana Pacers 114-111 and take a 3-0 lead in the NBA Eastern Conference finals.

Game four is in Indianapolis on Monday with no NBA team having ever come from 0-3 down to win a best-of-seven play-off series.

Despite the absence of star guard Tyrese Haliburton with a hamstring strain, the Pacers led 84-66 with six minutes to play in the third quarter.

They also led 109-101 with two minutes, 39 seconds remaining in the final quarter.

But Boston scored 13 of the game's final 15 points to steal the win.

A three-point play by Jrue Holiday put them 112-111 up with 38.9 seconds to play – their first lead since the opening moments of the second quarter.

He then came up with a steal from Andrew Nembhard and made a pair of free throws to extend the advantage before a three-point attempt by Indiana’s Aaron Nesmith bounced off the rim as the buzzer went.

Holiday, who has played 15 years in the NBA, was only cleared to play 45 minutes before tip-off as he struggled with a fever which left him in bed for most of the day.

"I didn't feel too well," he said after finishing with 14 points, nine rebounds and three steals.

"I guess I just figured if I got a good day's rest or tried to sleep through it, that would help me.

"It's Game Three in the Eastern Conference finals, so I wasn't going to miss this game."

Jayson Tatum top-scored for the Celtics with 36 points and also had 10 rebounds and eight assists while Jaylen Brown added 24 points.

The Eastern Conference winners will face either the Dallas Mavericks or the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA finals with Dallas leading their Western Conference series 2-0 with game three on Sunday.