C’s punch ticket to NBA Finals with thrilling Game 4 win over Pacers

The Boston Celtics are NBA Finals bound for the second time in three years.

The C’s secured their spot in the championship round Monday night with a 105-102 win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Boston trailed by as many as nine points in the fourth quarter but stormed back to score the game’s final seven points and complete the 25th series sweep in NBA conference finals history.

Boston will battle for Banner 18 against either the Dallas Mavericks or the Minnesota Timberwolves. Dallas will have a chance to complete a sweep of its own Tuesday night, entering Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals with a 3-0 series lead.

The C’s will get plenty of rest ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, which is set for Thursday, June 6 at 8:30 p.m. ET at TD Garden. You can view the full Finals schedule here.

This will be Boston’s fourth NBA Finals trip since 2008 and its 23rd Finals appearance in franchise history. Only the Los Angeles Lakers (32) have more.

Here are more Celtics NBA Finals facts to know as the NBA’s most storied franchise prepares to add to its illustrious résumé:

• Boston’s 17 NBA championships are tied for the most in league history with the Lakers.
• The Celtics won 11 of 13 championships between 1957 and 1969, including eight consecutive titles from 1959 to 1966.
• The C’s have a 79-56 all-time win/loss record and a 17-5 series record in the NBA Finals.
• Boston is 29-36 on the road and 50-20 at home all-time in the Finals.
• Celtics legend Bill Russell holds the record for the most NBA championships won by a player with 11 titles.
• Russell has the most NBA Finals points scored in Celtics franchise history with 1,151, eight more than the second-place Sam Jones.
• John Havlicek has scored the most points for the Celtics in an NBA Finals game, with 43 points against the Lakers in 1969.
• Paul Pierce (2008), Larry Bird (1984, 1986), Cedric Maxwell (1981), Jo Jo White (1976), and John Havlicek (1974) are the Celtics players to win Finals MVP since the NBA started giving out the award in 1969.
• Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum averaged 23.5 and 21.5 points per game respectively in Boston’s 2022 Finals vs. the Golden State Warriors.