BOSTON — After Jaylen Brown forced a turnover with less than 10 seconds left in regulation, he gave the Celtics once last chance gasp against the Pacers. The C’s were down three points, so the Pacers could’ve fouled, but they were at least down only one possession.
So the Celtics got one more gasp at life with 8.5 seconds left in the game. Jrue Holiday found Brown in the corner, and after a pump-fake with Pascal Siakam guarding him, Brown let the shot fly. The rest is history, he said postgame, as he forced overtime then the Celtics stole the Game 1 victory over the Pacers.
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“Before the inbound I was talking to myself, ‘If I get this shot, it’s going in,’” Brown said. “I was telling myself the whole time, you get it, it’s going up and it’s going in. I happened to create some space on the backside and was able to make a big-time play. So we’ve got to be able to channel our emotions, move onto the next and get ready to Game 2.”
The C’s now lead the Pacers 1-0 in the East Finals as they narrowly avoided disaster. The Pacers played a spirited game Tuesday just two days after they beat the Knicks in the East semifinals, giving another top-seeded East team a huge fight. But the C’s got some luck and breaks as they finished the job off in overtime.
Brown, though, was mum on his reaction to the play, crediting his teammates. He said they need to clean up some of their play as the Celtics narrowly won in the 133-128 game. Most importantly, though, the Celtics came away with the ugly win. And in the East Finals, the C’s will take them however they can get on their quest to hang Banner No. 18. Next up is Game 2, set for 8 p.m. Thursday at TD Garden.
“I think it’s always great to come out with a win,” Brown said. “But obviously, we got to tighten up in some areas. We’re going to watch the film. I think the majority of it was just transition. I think they just, we knew they were going to be fast, it didn’t surprise us, but it’s one thing watching it on film and then seeing it in person.”
