DERRICK WHITE had missed 7 of 8 three-point attempts when he found himself open in the right corner of the floor in the final minute of a tied game with an NBA Finals berth at stake.

He watched Jaylen Brown handle the ball and was just waiting for his Boston Celtics teammate to deliver a pass. Once Mr. Brown did just that, it was Mr. White’s turn to make a play.

“Just was trusting that JB is going to make the right play like he has this entire year,” White said. “I got a good look and wanted to stay in the shot and knock it down.”

Mr. White drained the 3-pointer with 45 seconds left and the Celtics finished off a four-game sweep of the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals with a 105-102 victory on Monday at Indianapolis. “It’s a credit to him,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said of Mr. White. “He’s another guy who has short-term memory. The last (missed) shot doesn’t bother him, he plays with a sense of presence.”

Mr. Brown scored 29 points and Jayson Tatum added 26 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists as the top-seeded Celtics landed a spot in the Finals for the second time in the past three seasons.

“It’s been nothing but a grind,” Mr. Brown said. “We didn’t skip no steps all season. We have a bunch of great guys in this locker room. We have a bunch of tough guys and our coaching staff and front office has been great. Now we want to take it to the next step.”

Andrew Nembhard had 24 points and a playoff career-high 10 assists for the sixth-seeded Pacers, who lost in the East finals for the eighth time in nine trips. Indiana’s only victory was over the New York Knicks in 2000.

Boston overcame a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter while once again playing better basketball down the stretch.

A defensive breakdown by the Pacers left White standing alone in the right corner on the decisive shot. Mr. Brown, who was named the MVP of the series, spotted him and his pinpoint pass was on the mark, and Mr. White’s shot swished through the net.

Mr. Nembhard missed a 3-pointer with 33.6 seconds left and Mr. Tatum got the rebound. Indiana decided not to foul, and Tatum missed a trey with 8.3 seconds remaining. But Jrue Holiday collected the offensive rebound with 4.7 seconds left, and the Celtics ran out the clock.

It was Boston’s second straight comeback win in Indianapolis. The Celtics overcame an eight-point deficit with 2:38 left in Game 3 to post a 114-111 victory. Boston trailed by as many as 18 in that contest.

“We never say die,” Tatum said. “These were some tough games we had to play in, and we always find a way to figure it out.”

It’s different guys every single night and we sacrifice in order to reach our ultimate goal.”

“These were some tough games we had to play in, and we always find a way to figure it out. It’s different guys every single night and we sacrifice in order to reach our ultimate goal.”

Holiday had 17 points and nine rebounds and White added 16 points, five steals and three blocked shots for the Celtics, who will face either the Dallas Mavericks or Minnesota Timberwolves in the Finals.

Pascal Siakam had 19 points and 10 rebounds and T.J. McConnell added 15 points for Indiana. Aaron Nesmith scored 14 points and Obi Toppin added 12.

Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton (hamstring) missed his second straight game.

“The level of fight was tremendous all the way through this,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said of his team. “Circumstance never fazes them one way or the other. They were in this to win every possession that they could and any game that they could.

“A lot of respect to our players and how they conducted themselves in the series.”

The Celtics shot 44.9 percent from the field, including 14 of 44 from 3-point range.

Indiana made 46 percent of its shot attempts and was 10 of 29 from behind the arc.

McConnell scored six points in 64 seconds early in the fourth quarter to give the Pacers an 89-82 lead. A three-point play by Nembhard made it 94-85 with 8:57 remaining.

After Boston moved within four, Nesmith made back-to-back baskets to give Indiana a 98-90 lead with 5:56 to go.

The Celtics answered with an 8-2 run, moving within 100-98 on Holiday’s three-point play with 3:54 remaining.

Brown’s runner tied the score at 102 with 2:40 left.

Tatum scored 16 points before halftime as Boston led 58-57 at the break. Nembhard also tallied 16 points in the first half.

The Pacers took an 83-80 advantage into the final stanza but were outplayed by Boston down the stretch of a close game for the third time in the series. Indiana lost Game 1 in overtime.

“It’s hard because I think when you look at all those games, we were right there,” Siakam said. “It stings and it’s hard because I know how hard we work.

“It’s heartbreaking losses after heartbreaking losses. … It doesn’t matter how good we played. We didn’t get it done.” — Reuters

THE DALLAS Mavericks have an opportunity to reach the NBA Finals for just the third time in franchise history when they seek to close out a sweep of the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals Tuesday night.

The Mavericks scored 14 of the final 17 points for a 116-107 home win in Game 3 on Sunday night that left them five wins away from their second-ever NBA title, having captured the crown in their last visit to basketball’s grand stage in 2011.

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving scored 33 points each Sunday, but the Mavericks also got key contributions from P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford and Derrick Jones Jr. in a win that gave them a 3-0 series lead.

Gafford, acquired in February from the Washington Wizards, had to put in yeoman’s work after big-man sidekick Dereck Lively II departed with a sprained neck in the third quarter.

Gafford wound up playing a playoff career-high 29 minutes and saved his best for last, blocking a Mike Conley layup attempt with 56 seconds left before slamming down Doncic’s alley-oop pass 22 seconds later to clinch the win.

Lively went straight to the locker room after catching Karl-Anthony Towns’ knee to the back of his head while falling in pursuit of a rebound. He reportedly passed a concussion test, but his status for Game 4 remains uncertain. He was listed as doubtful on the Mavericks’ injury report Monday afternoon.

The Mavericks had better news with forward Maxi Kleber upgraded to questionable for Game 4. Kleber has not played since May 3 because of an AC joint shoulder separation.

With or without Lively, Gafford acknowledged after Sunday’s win that the Mavericks’ success inside is tied to the unselfish play of Doncic and Irving.

“We’re trying to find the seams and just what can put us in position to where we can help the team,” Gafford said. “Everybody just put trust in us to just finish around the basket. And that’s what we did.”

The last time the Mavericks had a 3-0 lead in a playoff series was in 2011 when they finished off the sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers in the West semifinals en route to the title. — Reuters

PARIS — Rafael Nadal exited what could be his last French Open to an outpouring of love and support with a first-round 6-3 7-6(5) 6-3 defeat by Alexander Zverev, wishing to be back at Roland Garros for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

“I hope to see you again, but I don’t know,” Mr. Nadal told an ecstatic crowd after his straight-sets loss on Monday.

“There’s a big percentage I will not be back here but I am not 100 percent sure. I hope to be back on this court for the Olympics, that motivates me.”

It will the third time since his debut at Roland Garros in 2005, that Mr. Nadal, whose body has been martyred by 23 years of professional tennis and who left the tournament with a crushed foot after his record-improving 14^th title two years ago, does not get to celebrate his June 3 birthday in Paris.

The French, who tend to arrive on court Philippe Chatrier fashionably late on the back of a long lunch, skipped coffee and digestif to fill the arena before the king, racket in hand as usual, stepped onto the court to deafening roars.

On a rainy day in Paris, organizers closed the roof, adding to the intimacy of the moment.

“Rafa! Rafa!” went the crowd, again, as world number ones Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokovic, as well as fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, joined the party.

There was another break for Mr. Nadal in the third set, and some ‘I-can-still-do-it’ fist pumps after a few jaw-dropping winners, but two years after Mr. Zverev left their semifinal match on a wheelchair with a broken foot, the German was too good this time.

There was a sense of anticipation on the morning of the Nadal vs Zverev clash as Ms. Swiatek, gunning for a fourth title here, kicked off her campaign with a 6-1, 6-2 demolition of French qualifier Leolia Jeanjean.

Ms. Swiatek has now won her last 15 matches in Paris following her back-to-back wins in 2022 and 2023. 

Coco Gauff also made a strong start, dispatching German Julia Avdeeva 6-1, 6-1 for her 50^th Grand Slam match victory.

The 20-year-old American, who won the US Open last year to break her Grand Slam duck, is looking to claim her first French Open title after losing the 2022 final in Paris.

Sixth seed Maria Sakkari crashed out of the first round as Russian-born Varvara Gracheva, who now represents France, came back from a set down to secure a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory.

In the men’s draw, Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev, who suffered a shock first-round exit at last year’s French Open, ensured a longer stay at Roland Garros this time around with a 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 win over Germany’s Dominik Koepfer.

Medvedev had leaned on his serve and a slew of shots to comfortably grab the first two sets before a determined Koepfer suddenly stepped up his game.

Koepfer came back from an early break down in the third set where Medvedev’s bid to force a tiebreaker was thwarted when the German broke serve to grab the set.

Koepfer then double-faulted to gift the Russian a break to open the fourth set but got back on serve at 3-3 only for Medvedev to close out the day’s final match on Court Simonne-Mathieu by winning the next three games.

In other men’s action, Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, seeded second, downed American Chris Eubanks in straight sets, just like former runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas did with Hungarian journeyman Marton Fucsovics. — Reuters