'It got pretty damn loud in there': Home crowd fuels Pacers to In-Season Tourney win

INDIANAPOLIS -- Maybe it's the sea of yellow Pacers towels waving throughout the Gainbridge Fieldhouse stands.

Maybe it's the way the home crowd eagerly waited for a chance to erupt, excitement boiling over late in the fourth quarter as the Indiana Pacers punched their ticket to the first NBA In-Season Tournament semifinal in Las Vegas.

Maybe it's the way the entire team came together to celebrate after the game, soaking center Myles Turner with water before his postgame interview. But to fans and players alike, Monday's win over the Boston Celtics was more than just a regular season game.

Advancing to the semifinals of the IST meant something to everyone in the building, and the Pacers fed off the energy from the crowd, fueling them to a 122-112 quarterfinals victory.

Pacers score: Tyrese Haliburton posts triple-double to help Pacers stun Celtics, earn berth in IST semis

"Anybody who says that wasn't a playoff atmosphere is out of their mind," Pacers point guard T.J. McConnell said. "The feel of the game, the substitutions and possessions, certainly the atmosphere, that had playoffs written all over it.

"When you've got a crowd like we do, they will you to win games. In an atmosphere like this, you string a few stops together and get a few buckets, it got pretty damn loud in there. And we obviously were feeding off that. Just credit to our fans, they're amazing."

Jaylen Brown's 3-pointer erased a seven-point Celtics deficit with 6:07 left in the game. From that moment on, the teams traded buckets, with each lead change igniting the home crowd before a Celtics rebuttal quickly silenced the uproar.

Haliburton nearly blew the roof off the stadium with a step-back 3-pointer, putting the Pacers up two with less than four minutes remaining. After Jaylen Brown missed a 3, Bruce Brown had a chance to bring the crowd to its feet with a long 3, but he missed. Jayson Tatum put the Celtics up two before the Pacers countered with a three-possession knockout blow.

Haliburton brought the crowd to life with a four-point play, putting Indiana up four with 1:33 left. After a Tatum missed 3, Buddy Hield's 3-pointer with 33 seconds left was the dagger, bringing the crowd to its feet. Turner added the final blow, stealing a Derrick White pass leading to an Aaron Nesmith dunk.

Yellow towels still waving in the air, Nesmith's dunk started the celebration at Gainbridge.

"When the building starts rocking, you're in a home game in the playoffs, that's when special things can happen," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "Down the stretch, Tyrese hits the four-point play, I certainly feel the crowd and the energy had something to do with that. And our crowd was amazing. They were amazing all night long."

After the game, the Pacers weren't bashful about expressing the importance of the game. With MVP chants raining down on Haliburton as he recorded his first triple double, Turner said he hadn't experienced a crowd like that since Victor Oladipo's heyday several years ago.

Hield, a veteran in his third season with the Pacers after six seasons with the Sacramento Kings and one with the New Orleans Pelicans, can't remember the last time he played in such a meaningful NBA game.

For players like Hield who spent years playing for a losing franchise, established vets like Turner, and budding superstars like Haliburton, Monday's win was a statement to the NBA world. With a trip to Vegas ahead, the Pacers credited their home crowd for giving them a needed boost against a fellow Eastern Conference contender.

"I haven't seen this place like this in like, three, four years. It was incredible," Turner said. "Just the energy in the building. It never really died down. It was very consistent.

"I think the city is really starting to rally around this team and we're making noise, the right way."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: NBA In-Season Tournament: Pacers move to semis with win over Celtics