BOSTON -- The Pacers had the Celtics on the ropes, but a stunning 3-pointer by Jaylen Brown with 5.7 seconds left in regulation forced overtime and Boston got clutch buckets in overtime to win Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals 133-128 at TD Garden.
The Celtics take a 1-0 series lead into Thursday's Game 2.
Here are four observations.
Celtics stars, Pacers turnovers make difference in final moments and OT
The Pacers committed 21 turnovers on Tuesday night including several in the final moments and overtime that game the Celtics life.
The Pacers led by three points with 8.5 seconds left with a chance to inbound, draw a foul and put the game away, but guard Aaron Nembhard's inbound pass went off of Pascal Siakam and out of bounds to go back to the Celtics. The Pacers didn't foul and Celtics forward Jaylen Brown drilled a 3-pointer in the corner with 5.7 seconds to go to tie the game. Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton got in several tied-up positions on the final possession and missed a heave at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
Celtics All-Star forward Jayson Tatum scored 10 points in overtime including a critical three-point play and 3-pointer. He finished with 36 points on 12 of 26 shooting. Brown had 26 points and guard Jrue Holiday had 28 as the Celtics veterans stepped it up in critical moments.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle took responsibility for the lass, and in particular the turnover that set up the Brown 3-pointer, saying he should have taken a timeout that advanced the ball from the backcourt to the frontcourt which might have made for an easier inbound.
"This loss is totally on me," Carlisle said. "With 10 seconds in regulation, we should have just taken the timeout, advanced the ball, found a way to get it in and made a free throw or two and ended the game. It didn't happen. We made some other mistakes."
Prior to Tuesday night, the Pacers were averaging just 10.8 turnovers per game and there were a select few contests in which it was an issue at all, one of them being Game 5 of the semifinals against the Knicks. The Celtics turned the giveaways into 32 points.
"It's more on us," All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton said. "I think they're a great defensive team. They have great defenders, individual and team defenders. They're not a team who forces a ton of turnovers. They're a solid team. I just thought more of them were on us than them, that were forced by them. We have to clean that up. Outside of tonight and one game last series, we've really taken care of the ball. We'll fix it in Game 2."
Myles Turner took advantage of his matchups
With Kristaps Porzingis out for at least the first two games of this series with a calf strain, there was an obvious imperative for Pacers center Myles Turner to take advantage of his matchups and he very much did.
The Celtics used 37-year-old Al Horford and gangly 7-2, 240-pounder Luke Kornet at center. Turner went after both, but Kornet especially. In the first half, Turner scored 18 points on 7 of 10 shooting, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers on three attempts and also throwing down a few vicious dunks. He also added four rebounds and dished out four assists as well. The Celtics switched to guarding him with wings, including Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in the second half, but he still finished with 23 points on 9 of 13 shooting, grabbing 10 rebounds.
"Usually when 5s are on me, that's usually my time to get loose and what not," Turner said. "Teams pick up on that and start guarding me with other men, 3s or 4s and sometimes guarding me with guards. That's when I have to make my way in the paint and make my hay there. There were definitely some more things I could have done in the homestretch to be more aggressive."
Tyrese Haliburton keeps it up
Tyrese Haliburton found a rhythm in Game 6 against the Knicks and kept it going against the Celtics, showing aggression off the bounce and accuracy from deep.
Haliburton had to deal with not one but two All-NBA defenders in Celtics guards Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, who were both named to the second team earlier on Tuesday, but ball screens by Turner gave Haliburton opportunities to go down hill and space to step back. He focused on getting the ball to Turner and Obi Toppin at first, but then took advantage of his opportunities as he saw them.
Haliburton scored 11 points in the first half on 4 of 7 shooting including 3 of 5 from 3, hitting a deep 3-pointer just before the half to tie the game. He finished with 25 points on 8 of 18 shooting including 6 of 14 3-pointers to go with 10 assists, but he did have struggles late in the game with turnovers and he also missed an opportunity to win the game with a shot in the final seconds of regulation after Brown's 3. He had a space to shoot from about 35 feet early in the possession but tried to drive to get a better look. He was cut off by Derrick White, then funneled over to Tatum at the right elbow who forced Haliburton to take a wild shot over him. In retrospect, he said he should have pulled up before White got to him.
"For sure, for sure," Haliburton said. "That's replayed in my head a bunch of times already, that one play, and it will after I get out of here. I can't dwell on it. I felt like that was probably the look for me to shoot. I wish I did, but I didn't. had to move on in overtime. It was right there."
Pascal Siakam goes off in the second half
The Pacers started finding Pascal Siakam for mid-range jumpers in the second half and suddenly he couldn't stop making them.
The All-Star forward scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half, shooting 8 of 14 after the break and 12 of 23 for the game. He also grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out seven assists.
Siakam's opportunities came about in part because of the change in defense on Turner. The Celtics started guarding him with Horford and Kornet, so Siakam hit mid-range jumpers over them.
"I think he was really patient," Turner said. "He knew the ball was going to come his way. Once they switched the match-up and put Horford on him, it was more his time to get more involved in the actions and what not and he was able to make some big-time shots."
