Celtics steal Game 1 from Pacers, pass first real test in dramatic fashion: ‘That s— was chaos’

BOSTON — Everyone wanted to know how the Celtics would respond to their first real test of the NBA playoffs. Tuesday’s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals ultimately provided the answer: Chaotically.

“That’s a great word,” said Boston’s Jayson Tatum, “because that s*** was chaos. That s*** was wild.”

Jaylen Brown’s mad-dash 3-pointer with six seconds left in the fourth quarter sent the game to an extra period, and Tatum’s back-to-back three-point plays in the final 75 seconds of overtime put a 133-128 win out of reach from the feisty Indiana Pacers. Yet somehow we are left to wonder if they are clutch or not.

You are clutch if you are victorious, I guess, but there were plenty of times Boston felt anything but.

Brown’s turnover with 4:39 remaining in regulation of a two-point game was Exhibit A. He telegraphed a pass that he threw directly to Pascal Siakam, whose dunk on the other end gave Indiana a 108-104 lead.

That malfunction was topped by Tatum’s pass to no one with 1:48 left in overtime. When Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton corralled the careless turnover, Boston’s Derrick White fouled him on a 3-point attempt in transition, gifting Indiana a trio of free throws. Haliburton made all three for a 123-121 lead.

“I’m so glad we won the game,” said Tatum, “because I would’ve been sick.”

There were more meltdowns. The Celtics coughed up a 13-point lead in the final minutes of the third quarter. Their fourth-quarter offense got stuck in a muddy mixture of isolation, 3-pointers and isolation 3-pointers. They flubbed the open 3s they did manufacture — until Brown made his in Siakam’s grill.

The Celtics had more lives than Kenny from “South Park,” and Indiana granted most of them. With his team leading 117-114 inside of 30 seconds remaining in regulation, Haliburton inexplicably dribbled out of bounds. Rather than attempt a game-tying 3, White missed a layup, and Tatum missed the follow-up — a fadeaway jump shot — and again the Pacers had the ball, a three-point lead and the game in their hands.

And again they resuscitated Boston, throwing the ensuing inbounds pass off of Siakam’s hands. Celtics ball….

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/celtics-steal-game-1-from-pacers-pass-first-real-test-in-dramatic-fashion-that-s—-was-chaos-051118408.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-05-22 05:11:18

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.