The Celtics boasted one of the NBA’s top defenses this season. It wasn’t surprising, then, to see multiple Boston players land spots on the league’s All-Defensive teams, which were announced Tuesday.

Guards Derrick White and Jrue Holiday both were voted to the All-Defensive second team along with Chicago’s Alex Caruso, Orlando’s Jalen Suggs and Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels.

It was the second consecutive All-Defense nod for White, who along with Holiday forms one the league’s stingiest backcourts. Holiday is an annual staple on this squad, previously earning first-team honors in 2018, ’21 and ’23 and second-team in 2019 and ’22.

“They’re just two versatile guys that you can put on different matchups and play different schemes with them,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals at TD Garden. “It gives you a lot of flexibility.”

This year’s five first-team selections were Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert, San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, Miami’s Bam Adebayo, New Orleans’ Herb Jones and the Lakers’ Anthony Davis.

The Timberwolves and Celtics — who ranked first and second in defensive rating, respectively, during the regular season — were the only teams with multiple All-Defense representatives.

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were among the 24 other players who received votes.

“Listen, (White and Holiday) get the vote, but I think one of the things that’s been great about this year is all the guys’ ability to defend at a high, high level,” Mazzulla said. “Everybody that’s out there takes their matchup personal.

“This series is going to be a huge test of our defense — team defense and individual defense.”

Boston’s opponent in the East finals, the Indiana Pacers, led the NBA in scoring and field goal percentage during the regular season and ranked second in offensive rating.

Tillman unavailable

The Celtics ruled out forward Xavier Tillman for Tuesday’s game due to personal reasons. Tillman shared on Instagram that his father, Roosevelt, recently died.

The 25-year-old Tillman, whom Boston acquired ahead of the trade deadline, is a depth option in the Celtics’ frontcourt, but he’s played sparingly despite the ongoing absence of starting center Kristaps Porzingis.

Porzingis was ruled out for the seventh consecutive game as he works his way back from a soleus strain in his right calf. Al Horford has been his primary replacement, with Luke Kornet spelling Horford off the bench.

Green Machine

Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle wasn’t conceding defeat, but he was very forthcoming about what his squad was up against going into Game 1 against the Celtics.

The Celtics won three of the five regular season meetings, with one during the In Season Tournament. The Celtics scored 112 or more points in each one with a high of 155 on Nov. 1. Tatum had 30 points in that encounter.

“These guys have been the clear favorite all year to win the whole thing,” said Carlisle. “They ran away with the Eastern Conference and they have been dominant and so it is a big task.

“That’s clear and so we’ve just got to make it as hard as possible on them. It comes to what the matchups are going to look like and these guys are almost impossible to match up with really because of their size and skill.

“They all shoot the ball with range and the only guy not shooting threes is Kornet and he used to shoot them. We have a plan and we have contingencies.”

Indiana on point

Pacers’ All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton has emerged as the face of the franchise after their playoffs series wins over Milwaukee and New York.

Haliburton was phenomenal in the first three months of the season before being sidelined with a hamstring injury in January. Haliburton played his way back into form down the stretch and exploded in the playoffs, where he topped 30 points twice in the seven-game series against the Knicks.

“The playoff moments and being able to advance and his exceptional game in Game 7, these are the things really endear a fan base to a franchise player,” said Carlisle. “That was how Reggie Miller made his mark with the Pacers over 18 years.

“As it has gone along, he’s been humble and he’s learned a lot and he’s been humbled by the lessons learned.”

Off the rim

Two weeks, two playoff games for top Patriots draft pick Drake Maye. After taking in Game 4 of the Bruins’ second-round series last Sunday, the rookie quarterback was in the house Tuesday to watch Celtics-Pacers. … White arrived at TD Garden wearing a Hillary Knight PWHL Boston jersey. Knight’s squad also had a playoff game Tuesday night: Game 2 of the best-of-five PWHL Finals against Minnesota at Lowell’s Tsongas Center.