Tuesday’s Recreation 1 of the Jap Convention finals between the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers had just a little little bit of every little thing.
There was a historic stage of offense. The 2 groups mixed for 261 factors, the highest-scoring sport thus far this postseason and essentially the most mixed factors in a convention finals sport since 1987.
There have been essential turnovers. The Pacers gave it away 22 occasions, their second most this season, but it surely did not cease the heavy underdog from overcoming a number of double-digit deficits, together with a 12-0 run by the Celtics to open the sport.
There have been momentum-shifting pictures from lengthy vary. Pacers All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton hit two of them, one from 35 ft simply earlier than halftime and one other that banked off the backboard twice earlier than beating the third-quarter buzzer.
All of it led to the frantic remaining moments of regulation that featured a number of miscues by the Pacers, culminating in Celtics wing Jaylen Brown burying a contested nook 3-pointer that compelled additional time and helped Boston pull off a 133-128 miracle win.
Now that we’re on top of things on one of many wildest video games of the 2024 postseason, our NBA insiders are breaking down the largest moments of Recreation 1, what may very well be subsequent in Thursday’s Recreation 2 (8 p.m. ET on ESPN) and easy methods to describe that wild late sequence inside Boston’s TD Backyard.
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Jaylen Brown buries 3 in remaining seconds to tie sport vs. Pacers
After Pascal Siakam’s blunder, the Celtics get the ball again and Jaylen Brown’s contested nook heave ties it up with 5.7 left within the fourth quarter.
What’s your greatest takeaway from Recreation 1?
Tim Bontemps: The Celtics escaped. Boston was seconds away from falling to 15-15 at house over the previous three postseasons — an inexplicable statistic for a workforce that misplaced simply 4 occasions at TD Backyard throughout the 2023-24 common season — and dropping one other sport to an enormous playoff underdog. And but, Boston discovered a method to survive behind Brown’s game-tying 3 and the poise and presence of guard Jrue Vacation. In some ways, this was the primary true playoff sport Boston has performed throughout this postseason, and Vacation delivered every little thing the Celtics hoped he would once they acquired him on the eve of coaching camp in September.
Jamal Collier: The Pacers confirmed they’ll dangle with the Celtics. After Boston raced out to a 12-0 lead within the first quarter, Recreation 1 seemed prefer it was headed for a blowout. However Indiana responded because it has all season, overcoming two separate double-digit deficits within the contest to take the lead each occasions. The Pacers confirmed they’ve a blueprint to make this a aggressive collection towards the top-seeded Celtics, particularly if Haliburton can proceed capturing this nicely. He hit six 3-pointers in Recreation 1, together with back-to-back buzzer-beaters, within the second and third quarters.
Chris Herring: Playoffs or not, that is going to be a wildly up-tempo collection — even within the closing moments, which might and may make for extra chaos than we’re used to.
Extra importantly, we’re already seeing that Indiana is probably going going to lose the free throw battle by a substantial margin in every sport. In the course of the common season, on a per-shot-attempt foundation, the Pacers despatched their opponents to the road on the highest fee within the league, whereas the Celtics did so on the NBA’s lowest fee. That dichotomy performed out in Recreation 1. Boston registered 30 free throws to Indiana’s 10, and Jayson Tatum had 12 makes an attempt by himself.
What’s one massive adjustment we might see in Recreation 2?
Bontemps: Boston desperately wants to enhance its protection contained in the 3-point line. Indiana shot 62.5% from 2-point vary in Recreation 1 — 66.1% on the finish of regulation — because the Celtics felt the lack of 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingis’ paint safety. Brown stated postgame that Boston needed to alter to Indiana’s stage of tempo as the sport wore on regardless of the Pacers needing to beat a grueling seven-game collection towards the New York Knicks that concluded simply two days prior.
Collier: The Pacers must care for the ball. It hasn’t been a difficulty for the Indy for many of this season (they averaged the second-fewest turnovers per sport amongst playoff groups getting into the convention finals), however the Pacers obtained careless with the ball when it mattered most on the finish of Recreation 1. Indiana heart Myles Turner stated it was the primary time throughout this playoff run he thought the workforce confirmed its age with such uncharacteristic errors. Regardless of the trigger could be, the Pacers have to carry onto the ball in Recreation 2 and never permit Boston to get anyplace near the 32 factors off turnovers it recorded Tuesday.
Herring: After how the Pacers pulled forward late in Recreation 1, I would not be stunned if the Celtics search for a method to tighten issues up defensively in clutch time — whether or not it is by totally different change patterns or just taking part in up larger and risking leaving the rim space a bit extra weak, particularly contemplating how hardly ever Indiana obtained to the free throw line.
Particularly, the Pacers carved up 37-year-old massive man Al Horford from midrange within the fourth quarter and in additional time, connecting on 6 of 9 makes an attempt when Horford was the first defender throughout that stretch. That should not come as a shock: The Pacers had been the league’s most effective midrange capturing workforce throughout the common season.
The ultimate moments of regulation and additional time had been ____.
Bontemps: Chaotic. There have been wild passes, inexplicable turnovers and wide-open pictures that missed badly. It was every little thing that comes with the crucible of the ultimate moments of a nip and tuck playoff sport. However Brown and Vacation basically stated the identical factor postgame: Boston by no means believed the sport was over till it truly was. The Celtics may need been the one ones inside TD Backyard to imagine that, however they wound up being proper.
Collier: Unpredictable. That sport went from “shut, however Boston would not actually look threatened right here” to “wait, the Pacers are going to steal this sport” to “oh my, how did the Pacers blow this?” Dropping a playoff sport after inbounding the ball up three factors with 10 seconds remaining put the Pacers in a class with traditionally unlikely losers; they had been the primary workforce to drop a playoff sport in such style for the reason that 1997-98 marketing campaign.
Herring: Ugly. Indiana had so many “we have by no means been right here” errors. Haliburton misplaced the ball a number of occasions, and he waited too lengthy to get a shot off as time expired in regulation. The Pacers compelled a horrible inbounds cross late, regardless that they’d a timeout to spare. And none of this even touches on Haliburton trying as if he was attempting to commit a late intentional foul in transition, which might have given Boston two essential free throws.
Boston made loads of miscues too. However as the favourite and the membership with home-court benefit, the Celtics can afford that. The Pacers cannot.
ESPN Stats & Info contributed to this story.