Celtics win with overtime victory against Pacers in conference finals, 133-128
BALAYAN, Batangas— The Boston Celtics secured their first series win, 1-0, in the Eastern Conference finals after going up against the Indiana Pacers, 133-128, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 22 (PHT).
Jayson Tatum led the game for the Celtics after finishing with 36 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists. He scored 10 of them during overtime after Jaylen Brown’s tying 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds left in the game. Boston made a timely comeback that resulted in a victory over the Pacers.
Along with Tatum, Jrue Holiday added a season-high 28 points, seven rebounds, and 8 assists, and Brown finished with 26 points, 7 rebounds, and five assists.
The Celtics became the first team in the history of NBA Playoffs that there were three players totaling 25+ points and three steals in a game. This is the ninth time that this has happened in a Conference Finals game ever.
Although the Celtics struggled for most of the game with shooting in the 3-point range, they still ended the match with 15 of 45 being knocked down from beyond the arc.
“Welcome to the NBA playoffs. You’ve just got to manage your emotions. Anything can happen. 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,” Jaylen Brown said.
For the Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton led the team with 25 points and 10 assists. Pascal Siakam also finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists. Lastly, Myles Turner with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Haliburton shot 13 of his 3-pointers and scored 56 points in the paint against the Celtics.
But Boston leveled up their defense. They finished with 11 steals, three of which were done by Brown, Tatum, and Holiday.
The Pacers took the lead at 123-121 after Haliburton made all three free throws after being fouled with 1:46 left. T.J. McConnell fouled Tatum after powering through for a layup. He completed the three-point play to secure the Celtics lead for the rest of the game.
The Pacers had a turnover again, this time by Haliburton. The ball ended up in Tatum’s hand at the top of the key. He pumped, sidestepped a defender, and nailed a 3-pointer that made the score 127-123 with 43 seconds remaining.
White and Siakam exchanged layups. After Holiday was fouled, he made two free throws which gave the Celtics a lead, 131-125.
“It’s unfortunate we did so many good things in this game that it came down to a couple of mistakes at the end, but it’s the NBA playoffs. We’ve got to learn from it, and we’ve got to bounce back,” Pacers’ coach Rick Carlisle said.
The Celtics and Pacers will face each other again at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts on May 23, 8 AM (PHT).