BOSTON – Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combining for 62 points wasn’t enough to lead the Celtics past the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference championship series.
Tatum & Brown needed help.
Al Horford and Derrick White, who both chipped in 15 points, were good. But they didn’t put the Celtics over the top in the 133-128 overtime win.
Jrue Holiday did. He was the pivotal third wheel.
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While he’s been known mostly for his defensive prowess this season – and that was still in evidence Tuesday night against Tyrese Haliburton – Holiday’s scoring was a huge factor in the game.
Averaging just 12.5 points per game during the year, Holiday exploded for 28 in Game 1, with 20 of those coming after halftime.
So after basically keeping his offense in the closet most of the season, how was Holiday able to dust off his jump shot?
“I think just continually being aggressive, continually working on my game, continually having the coaches and my teammates in my ear, telling me they’re going to need me,” he said, “and even just knowing, especially times during the game, just being aggressive, no matter what end of the floor it’s on.
“I’m going to continue to do that, and we’ll see what happens.”
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla cited Holiday’s performance, pointing out that it shouldn’t come as a surprise.
“He’s the kind of guy who can impact the game in different ways every night,” Mazzulla said of Holiday, who was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive team for the sixth time in his career. “Tonight it was his scoring, his play-making and his defense, it was a well-rounded game by him. I thought his poise and his demeanor throughout the game was tremendous for us.”
