Celtics Prevail in a Wild High-Scoring Game One
Boston - The Boston Celtics won their opening series game and the Indiana Pacers lost their opening series game trend continued. This is Jayson Tatum's fifth Conference Final in seven years and this might finally be his time to win the city of Boston another NBA Championship. This was what you call a “track meet” as both teams were racing up and down the court. The two highest-scoring teams in the NBA lived up to the expectations. This was easily one of the if not the, best game of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. In the end, the experience of the Celtics remained triumphant. It also helps when you have three teammates log at least 25 points and three steals apiece, for the first time in NBA history.
It was a rather wacky start to Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals. Jaylen Brown scored the opening points of the game with a nasty tomahawk dunk over former Celtic Aaron Nesmith. The very next possession Pascal Siakam drove into the lane trying to score a layup, but Al Horford was called for goaltending. Head coach Joe Mazzulla had the quickest challenge in NBA playoff history which was deemed successful upon review and took Siakam’s points away. This led to a 12-0 run for the Celtics, the perfect start for the NBA Championship frontrunners. All of this happened in the first three minutes of the opening quarter.
The pace of this game was lightning-quick. As soon as a basket was made, the ball was thrown back in instantly and they were off and running. The Pacers bench remains crucial for their success. T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin are integral pieces of the rotation and their success will be the narrative if the Pacers can upset the Celtics to advance to the NBA Championship. The combo of McConnell and Toppin combined for 15 opening-quarter points, which outscored the Celtics bench points by 12. They were of utmost importance in narrowing down the double-digit lead to just three points, 34-31, at the end of the opening quarter of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Much like the opening of the first quarter, Al Horford blocked Siakam’s shot, but this time Payton Pritchard sunk a deep three on the next possession. Pritchard was the spark off the bench that the Celtics needed to match the play of McConnell and Toppin. To quote Doris Burke, “Al Horford is a pro’s pro.” He has done an exceptional job at filling in the starting rotation while Kristaps Porzingis remains out with injury. Along with Horford’s great first-half performance, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown showcased why they are the best one-two punch in the NBA. The Celtics duo combined for 25 points, just shy of their average points scored per half.
Myles Turner was the real reason that the Pacers maintained within a reasonable distance from the Celtics. He led all scorers at the break with 18 points. He was scoring from everywhere on the floor, stepback jumpers, midrange floaters, and finishing off alley-oops. The pick and roll for the Pacers was basically unguardable. Neither Horford nor Luke Kornet could guard it properly, which led to easy points. The notable Celtics defense was playing not up to standards, allowing the Pacers to shoot 58.7% from the floor. Tyrese Haliburton hit his third three-pointer of the game from the logo to tie the game going into halftime at 64-64.
The Pacers got their first lead of the game with their opening basket of the third quarter. After a series of turnovers, the Celtics grabbed the lead back with a Jayson Tatum basket in transition. Jrue Holiday was a large part of creating those turnovers, showcasing why he was a part of the second all-defensive team in the NBA this season. One of the most bizarre occurrences occurred when Luke Kornet was shooting free throws. On his second free throw, the official signaled a double lane violation, which I have never seen called before.
Again, T.J. McConnell always seems to be at the right place at the right time. Due to his size, he has to use his IQ to outsmart the defenders. That’s why he is always filling up the box score because he knows how to play the game better than most. Up until two minutes to go in the third quarter, the Celtics maintained a double-digit lead. Due to poor free throw shooting and the Pacers going on an 8-0 run to end the quarter, the Celtics only managed to be up one point heading into the fourth.
With only 12 minutes remaining, it was time to prove which team has what it takes to win a close game. It was back and forth, back and forth just like the previous three quarters. Pascal Siakam was stuffing the stat sheet, already securing a double-double and nearing a triple-double with just over seven minutes remaining. Along with Siakam, Haliburton, McConnell, and Turner were the three other Pacers who could not leave the court because of their value to the game. With less than five minutes to go, the Pacers grabbed the lead and were up by four.
Missing Porzingis really hurt the Celtics as neither Horford nor Kornet could guard the Pacers big men. Porzingis’ athleticism is a huge added value on top of his 7’3 frame. Aaron Nesmith got his revenge against the team that drafted him by converting an and-one after being fouled after his made layup. Jaylen Brown was demanding the ball down the stretch which was not the right move after going three straight possessions with a missed shot. Jrue Holiday and Jayson Tatum should have demanded the ball as they were clearly the best two players from the Celtics in tonight’s efforts.
The Celtics had plentiful opportunities to score within the last 30 seconds of the game. Down by three, Derrick White missed his layup attempt which was rebounded by Tatum and then he missed his step-back midrange jumper. Tyrese Haliburton was fouled on the rebound with 8.5 seconds remaining. He impounded the ball to Siakam, who was running towards the baseline and Jaylen Brown deflected the ball out of bounds off of Siakam. The Celtics had one final chance to tie the game and Jaylen Brown sank a contested corner three to tie it at 117. With 5.7 seconds remaining, Tyrese Haliburton took it upon himself to find something to win the game but missed the game-winning shot and the game was sent into overtime.
In the five minute overtime period, Tyrese Haliburton made his sixth three-pointer of the evening to open the scoring. Aaron Nesmith fouled out of the game with 2:27 left in the overtime period on a Jayson Tatum solo fast-break. It was not a smart decision on his part and was on the verge of being a flagrant foul. Both teams were being careless with the basketball all night, combining for 35 turnovers. Tyrese Haliburton was fouled, with 1:46 left, on a three-point attempt by White and made all of his free throws. Haliburton, among other Pacers, were clutch the entire night. Talking about being clutch, on the next possession, Jayson Tatum finished a one-handed layup while being fouled by McConnell. Jrue Holiday and Jaylen Brown made back-to-back massive defensive plays to force two more Indiana turnovers. Tatum called game with 42.8 seconds left by drilling the biggest three-pointer of the game. With 16.7 seconds remaining and down four, the Pacers began fouling to stop the clock. Boston had the same idea as they were beginning to foul, up by six points, so that the Pacers were forced to score point by point. After a couple more series of fouling and shooting free throws, the Celtics came out victorious 133-128.
