Jaylen Brown credited Jrue Holiday as the reason the Boston Celtics stunned the Indiana Pacers with a comeback win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Holiday was the recipient of more praise after the Green took a commanding 3-0 series lead following Game 3 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. In that matchup, Holiday scored the game-winning basket and stole the ball from Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard to seal the one-possession victory.
And then in Boston’s closeout contest in Game 4, Holiday scored 17 points on 54% from the field (7-for-13). He continued to play his typical suffocating defense and made another game-sealing play when he hauled in an offensive rebound on Boston’s final possession.
There’s an argument to be made Holiday deserved to win Larry Bird Trophy given to the Eastern Conference finals MVP. Instead, however, Holiday did not receive a single vote and the honor went to Brown, who was well-deserving in his own right.
The fact Holiday didn’t receive a vote likely says more about Boston’s star-caliber showings than anything else. They had multiple players perform at the MVP level.
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Brown was exceptional in the series as he averaged 29.8 points per game, including a team-high 29 in Game 4. He did it at both ends, perhaps best depicted by his block on Nembhard with 65 ticks left in a Game 4 tie. Brown followed that up when he got to the paint and dished a pass to Derrick White for the series-clinching 3-pointer.
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Jayson Tatum was even more of a standout on the stat sheet. The First Team All-NBA honoree averaged 30.3 points and 10.3 rebounds as he shot 46.3% from the field. Tatum scored 10 of his 36 points in overtime of Game 1 to propel the Green to a series-opening win. That was a memorable stretch and overshadowed a poor fourth quarter by Tatum’s standards.
Their respective performances were why Brown received five of the nine votes and Tatum received the other four. Holiday not receiving a single vote after his series-long performance, however, might have been a bit of an overlook.
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It’s clear Holiday isn’t concerned, though, as the Celtics now get ready for the NBA Finals.
