Thanks to a combined effort from Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, the Boston Celtics swept the Indiana Pacers and advanced to the NBA Finals.

Despite the Celtics’ 105-102 victory in Game 4 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Monday night, the running backs had to compete for the Larry Bird Trophy, which is awarded to the Eastern Conference finals’ MVP.

Brown was awarded the playoff trophy after a close contest with Tatum. Brown was nominated five times, while Tatum was nominated four times, by members of the media who vote for the award.

Brown told ESPN’s Lisa Salters, “We were in this building not too long ago and we were getting boos,” following the announcement of the prize. God is good, and I’m grateful for everything, guy. Shall we acquire additional?Brown was truly worthy of the accolades. In Game 1, he made a game-winning 3-pointer from the corner to send the game into overtime, and he went on to average 29.8 points per game while shooting 51.7% from the field and 37% from beyond the arc throughout the series.

Brown, whose 40 points in Game 3 were tied for his postseason career-high, was vital in Game 4 as the Celtics defeated the Pacers. Brown shot 11 for 22 from the field and scored 19 of his 29 points in the second half. With under a minute remaining in the fourth quarter with the score knotted, he made a key block on Andrew Nembhard of the Pacers. He also helped set up Derrick White for the game-winning triple.

In addition to his 2022 Eastern Conference finals MVP effort, Tatum also had a solid outing in the championship game. In addition to his 26 points, he grabbed 13 boards and dished out 8 assists.Now that they have their sights set on a title, Brown and Tatum will strive to win the NBA Finals MVP award as well.