Brown’s game-tying three lifts Celtics to Game 1 win over Pacers in East finals
The Celtics went into the playoffs expecting to get everyone’s best shot.
The East’s top seeds barely survived a tough battle to open the Eastern Conference finals.
Jayson Tatum scored 36 points, including 10 in overtime on Jaylen Brown’s game-tying 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds remaining in regulation time, and Boston rallied just in time for a 133-128 win over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night.
Jrue Holiday added a season-high 28 points and Brown finished with 26.
“Welcome to the NBA Playoffs. You just have to control your emotions. Anything can happen,” Brown said of his tie. ‘It’s not over until the final buzzer sounds. …It’s not over until it’s over. We finally found a way to win the game.”
It gave his team new life and helped it hold home field advantage with Game 2 set to take place in Boston on Thursday.
But Tatum was also thinking about complacency. The Celtics have lost Game 2 in each of their previous two series.
“It doesn’t prove anything,” Tatum said. “We won a big game. The series is far from over.”
Tyrese Haliburton had 25 points and 10 assists for the Pacers, who knocked down 13 3-pointers and scored 56 points against a Celtics team still playing without 7-footer Kristaps Porzingis.
But Boston beefed up their defense and finished with 11 steals – three each from Brown, Tatum and Holiday. The Celtics become the first team in NBA playoff history to have three players record 25 points and three steals in a game.
The Celtics were cold from three-point range for most of the game, but finished the night 15 of 45 from beyond the arc.
“We continue to talk about protecting home court,” Celtics forward Al Horford said. “It’s what it takes.”
Pascal Siakam added 24 points and 12 rebounds. Myles Turner finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds for the sixth-seeded Pacers, who turned the lead twice with a three-point lead in the final 30 seconds of regulation.
Brown made them pay for the second, hitting a three from the corner with Siakam right in his face, tying the score at 117.
“Jrue made a good pass, (Derrick White) set a great screen and the rest is history,” Brown said.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was pleased with the poise Brown showed.
“Jaylen had great balance,” he said. “Great pass, great shot.”
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said the loss was “all on me” for not calling a timeout to advance the ball before their turnover that set up Brown’s shot.
When asked about the 21 turnovers Indiana committed, Haliburton said many of them were preventable.
“I think it’s more up to us,” he said. “I just felt like there were probably more of them coming at us than they were forcing turnovers.”
The Celtics are now 2-2 when their opponent scores 100 or more points.
Holiday said the Celtics never panicked after falling behind late in regulation
“I think we always knew there was always a chance. We’ve seen crazy things happen all the time,” Holiday said. “I don’t think we think we’ve lost the game until we’ve actually lost the game and that’s part of the reason why we were so resilient.”
Indiana got back in front at 123-121 when Haliburton hit all three free throws after being fouled with 1:46 to go. Tatum then made a layup and was fouled by TJ McConnell. He completed the three-point play to give Boston the lead for good.
The Pacers turned it over again, this time by Haliburton. The ball found its way to Tatum at the top of the key. He pumped, bypassed a defender and nailed a three to make it 127-123 with 43 seconds left.
White and Siakam traded layups. Holiday was fouled and hit two free throws, giving Boston a 131-125 cushion.
“It’s unfortunate that we did so many good things in this game that it ultimately came down to a few mistakes, but it’s the NBA playoffs,” Carlisle said. “We have to learn from it and we have to bounce back.”