The Indiana Pacers appeared to have a Game 1 upset in hand.
Jaylen Brown had other ideas.
The Boston Celtics All-Star stunned the Pacers with a 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation to tie Tuesday’s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals at 117-117. The game then went into overtime, where the Celtics prevailed, 132-128 to take a 1-0 series lead.
The Pacers led, 115-110 late and appeared to be in control with the ball and a 117-114 advantage with 10 seconds left in regulation. But they turned the ball over on a sloppy inbounds pass to breath new life into the Celtics. Brown took full advantage.
With Pascal Siakam in his face, Brown launched a 3-pointer from the left corner that found the bottom of the net as the clock read 5.7 seconds to secure the extra session.
There, Jayson Tatum scored 10 points including a 3-pointer with 42.8 seconds remaining to extend a Boston lead to 127-123. From there, the Celtics controlled game that saw dramatic swings for both sides from the game’s opening tip. Boston walks with the early advantage in a series they’re heavily favored to win.
Turnovers including late giveaway doom Pacers
Indiana leaves with a bitter taste, having blown a golden opportunity to take a 1-0 advantage over the NBA’s best team from the regular season as the No. 6 seed in the East. On a night where they shot 53.5% from the field and 37.1% from 3, the late turnover that set up Brown’s 3-point heroics was Indiana’s defining play of the night.
Indiana had possession of the ball in the backcourt on an inbounds play with 10 seconds remaining. Andrew Nembhard was the inbounds man and first looked to Tyrese Haliburton on the baseline. With Jrue Holiday smothering Haliburton, Nembhard then looked to a cutting Siakam. But Brown was in close pursuit and made a play on the soft pass from Nembhard. The ball bounced off Siakam’s hands out of bounds to set up Brown’s game-tying 3-pointer.
The turnover was one of 21 on the night for Indiana on a night where their offense was otherwise stellar. But the giveaways ultimately cost the Pacers the game. The turned the ball over three more times in overtime, including twice in the final 1:02.
The game got off to an ominous start for the Pacers, which found themselves in a 12-0 hole less than 3 minutes into the first quarter. But Indiana’s league-best offense bounced back to tie the game at 64-64 at halftime thanks in part to a logo 3 from Haliburton in the final seconds of the second quarter.
The clutch 3 was one of several from Haliburton, who shot 6 of 14 from long distance while tallying 25 points, 10 assists and three steals. He hit another early in the third quarter to give Indiana a 69-64 advantage.
But the Celtics hit back with a 13-0 run later in the quarter to take an 87-75 lead. The Pacers committed three turnovers during the Boston run. But they didn’t wilt.
They responded with a 18-7 run of their own capped by another Haliburton 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer to cut Boston’s lead to 94-93.
The fourth quarter was then taut throughout before the fateful final seconds ultimately secured the Boston win.
The Celtics matched the Pacers offense with big performances from across the starting lineup. Tatum tallied a game-high 36 points including his 10 in overtime alongside 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Jrue Holiday scored a season-high 28 points alongside eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals.
Brown hit just 1 of his 4 3-pointers on the night. But it led to Boston’s victory. He was otherwise on point while tallying 26 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. The Celtics shot 46.5% from the field and 33.3% from 3-point distance and secured a significant advantage at the free-throw line. Boston shot 24 of 30 from the stripe, while Indiana hit 9 shots on just 10 free-throw attempts.
The Celtics secured the win without starting forward Kristaps Porzingis, who’s been sidelined with a calf injury since Boston’s first-round series against the Miami Heat. He could reportedly be ready to return by Game 4 against the Pacers.
