Well, what a start to the Eastern Conference Finals, both the Indiana Pacers and the Celtics had their opportunities to win the game, but ultimately Boston came out on top after a stunning battle. The Pacers led by 3 points with under 10 seconds to play, until Pascal Siakam turned over an inbound play, which in the end led to the Pacers downfall. Jaylen Brown buried a seemingly impossible 3-point shot from the corner to tie the game, sending it to overtime, before Jayson Tatum took over in overtime to drive the Celtics to a 1-0 series advantage.
The Celtics got off to an electric start inside TD Garden, they rattled off a 12-0 run to begin the game with the Pacers turning the ball over three times inside the opening 3 minutes of the game. But Indiana came roaring back with Obi Toppin and Myles Turner attacking Boston’s weakened interior defence, as Boston are still without star big man Kristaps Porzingis. Toppin scored the final nine points of the quarter for the Pacers and managed to work the Celtics’ lead down to just three by the end of the opening quarter.
The Celtics extended their lead into double digits to begin the second quarter, however a poor close to the period saw Indiana tie the game at halftime. Tyreece Haliburton made a shot from seemingly a mile away to end the quarter, he performed excellently in this one running Indiana’s fast paced offense well. Haliburton ended the game with 25 points (including six 3s) and 10 assists to lead the way for the Pacers.
A huge issue in this game for Boston was their inability to extend their lead without Tatum on the floor, Tatum drove the Celtics into a comfortable 12-point lead before he was replaced by Sam Hauser with just 2:38 to play in the period. The Pacers then rapidly cut the Boston lead down to just one, as Haliburton made yet another incredible circus shot 3-pointer.
The fourth quarter looked to be an absolute disaster for the Celtics, as multiple poor offensive and defensive possessions allowed the Pacers to create a 5-point lead with just 1:57 to play. But Jaylen Brown said enough, he forced a turnover on Siakam as Boston prevented Indiana from inbounding the ball. Then after a timeout, Brown made quite possibly the most incredible 3-point shot from the corner fading away with Siakam in his face to even the score. Haliburton failed to get off a proper shot in the final 5.7 seconds and the game headed to OT.
The overtime period was dominated by one man – Jayson Tatum – he bullied Andrew Nembhard inside and converted an +1 play before nailing a shot from deep to give Boston a four-point lead. That was ultimately enough to win it as Tatum added another five points from the free throw line and the Celtics ran away with a 133-128 victory.
After the game Jaylen Brown spoke to ESPN about the dramas of playoff basketball: “Welcome to the NBA playoffs. You’ve just got to manage your emotions. Anything can happen”. Brown also spoke about his game tying three which sent the game to OT: “It’s not over until the final buzzer sounds. … It’s not over until it’s over. We found a way to win the game at the very end”. Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals will be on Thursday at TD Garden, as Boston hopes to defend homecourt.
By Will C
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