BOSTON – Jaylen Brown saved the day in regulation and Jayson Tatum finished off the job in overtime, helping the Boston Celtics pull off a miraculous, 133-128 Game 1 win over the Indiana Pacers to tip off the Eastern Conference Finals Tuesday night.
In the final minute of the fourth quarter, Brown knocked down a pair of clutch free-throws, forced a critical Indiana turnover while trailing by three with 8.5 seconds remaining, and then knocked down the game-tying triple to send the game into overtime.
With a fresh slate in OT, Brown's partner in crime completed the job. Tatum scored 10 of his game-high 36 points in the extra period, including the go-ahead, and-1 layup with 1:12 remaining, followed by a 3-pointer to put the C’s up by four.
“Welcome to the NBA Playoffs,” Brown said in the aftermath of the chaotic finish. “You’ve just got to manage your emotions of the game. Anything can happen. The game is not over until the final buzzer sounds.”
Boston’s third ‘J’ – Jrue Holiday – also stepped up with the best game of his Celtics career, scoring a season-high 28 points along with seven rebounds, eight assists, and three steals. He, Brown, and Tatum became the first trio of teammates in NBA playoff history to log at least 25 points and three steals apiece in the same game. Plus, they each recorded at least seven rebounds and four assists apiece.
The Celtics trailed by three points with 10 seconds remaining and the ball in Indiana's hands. They seemed to be dead in the water at that moment, but the team still felt very much alive.
“We’ve seen crazy stuff happen all the time,” said Holiday. “I don’t think that we think we've lost a game until we’ve actually lost a game. That’s part of the reason why we were so resilient toward the end of the game; anything can happen.”
Brown played a big part in that “anything,” delivering two epic plays on either side of the ball in the closing 10 seconds.
"It's simple: big-time players make big-time plays,” Tatum said of his wing-mate extending the game. “That was a hell of a shot he made, and the deflection that gave us the opportunity to make that shot.”
After Brown sent the game to OT, it was Tatum’s turn to step up in the clutch. He nearly singlehandedly outscored the Pacers in the extra five-minute frame, finishing with 10 points to Indy’s 11.
It was the first 10-point overtime period by an NBA player in a postseason game since 2021. And it marked just the second instance of a Celtic scoring at least 10 points in a playoff overtime period during the play-by-play era (Rajon Rondo, 12 points in Game 2 of the 2012 ECF).
“Big-time players make big-time plays,” Tatum repeated, this time referring to himself. “Simple as that.”
The most consistent big-time player of the night was Holiday, who did a little bit of everything, as he so often does. He became just the third Celtic to record at least 28 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, and three steals in a playoff game, joining Larry Bird (three times) and Rondo.
“Jrue came out and balled, man,” said Brown. “He’s the reason why we won his game. I think he just was poised, he took advantage of his matchups. He just was so, so elite in that. It’s a lot. And he’s guarding (Tyrese) Haliburton, picking him up, chasing him around. That was special from Jrue Holiday.”
It was a special night for all three J’s – three big-time players who make big-time plays.