Celtics complete rare sweep by beating Pacers 110-106

INDIANAPOLIS — Gordon Hayward and Marcus Morris took care of some housecleaning Sunday.

They dusted off their 3-point shooting touch in time to help the Boston Celtics complete a clean sweep.

Hayward scored 20 points, Morris added 18 and the duo combined for five 3s over the final 5½ minutes to give Boston a 110-106 victory and its first 4-0 series victory in eight years.

“I knew there was going to be a spark off the bench. (On Sunday) and that person was Gordon Hayward,” All-Star guard Kyrie Irving said. “This is his city. I’m glad he had a chance to put on a performance like that in a closeout game.”

Just how rare is a sweep for a franchise with a league-record 17 titles?

Since 1986-87, the Celtics had done it just once — in the first round against the New York Knicks. And between the Celtics’ titleclinching sweep over the Minneapolis Lakers in 1958-59 and their perfect run through the 1985-86 Eastern Conference finals against Milwaukee, the Celtics achieved it just twice — in 1979 against Houston and in 1980 against Chicago.

So when coach Brad Stevens was asked Saturday about how he’d react if his players earned some time off, Stevens said he wasn’t sure.

Now, last year’s Eastern Conference runner-ups can start a new to-do list with a potential matchup looming against the top-seeded Bucks.

“It’s going to take everything we have,” Hayward said. “That’s why it’s good we finished this series. We can rest up, prepare, and have some extra time.”

Clearly, the Celtics played better than a No. 4 seed in this series.

They won the first three games on the strength of a suffocating second-half defense that twice limited the Pacers 12-point quarters and once to eight. This time, they finished the job by grinding it out behind a group of polished veterans. DAVAO CITY — A lean and mean team will represent the Philippines in the Arafura Games 2019 set to be held from April 26 to May 4 in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

Mark Edward Velasco, Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) national training director and the delegation’s Deputy Chef de Mission, said the team is composed of 120 athletes and coaches who will participate in 10 of 17 calendared sports.

"PSC Chairman William Ramirez's instruction was to send a strong team, to select the best among our players in the developmental level," Velasco said.

Velasco said the “rigorous selection process” was part of PSC’s ‘sports pyramid’ where the best athletes from grassroots level will be given the opportunities to test their mettle against their global counterparts.

"Although the Arafura Games is a friendly competition, the level is high given the number and skills of the competitors they will be facing. It is a good exposure,” Velasco said.

He said more than 97 percent of the Philippine team members hail from Mindanao with Davao City sending around 70 athletes. Other members come from Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Davao del Norte, General Santos and Palawan.

The team is composed of the winners of the Philippine National Games, Batang Pinoy and Palarong Pambansa.

Velasco said the team is set to leave on April 24 on board a Philippine Airlines chartered flight.

He said more than 15,000 athletes and coaches will join the Arafura Games which will be held after eight years of absence due to a global health scare in 2011.

The Filipino-Australian Association of the Northern Territories led by Raul Daet, as well as the Philippine Consulate headed by Consul John Rivas, have all pledged their support to Team Philippines. and the referee stopped the contest 44 seconds into the said round.

Casimero, who hailed from Ormoc City, is now 27-4 with 18 knockouts, while Espinoza dropped to 233, losing for the first time via a stoppage.