BOSTON — Jaylen Brown rescued the Celtics from a deep hole in Game 1 with a clutch 3 to force overtime in Boston’s overtime win. Yet, it was hard not to wonder after the basket whether Brown should have been allowed to take the shot to begin with. With Indiana nursing a 3-point lead and eight seconds left in regulation, fouling is the usual play to ensure a team does not have a chance to tie the game with one shot.
Rick Carlisle confirmed after the loss that was the Pacers’ intention on the play. However, Joe Mazzulla used a bit of craftiness to force the Pacers and Pascal Siakam into a bind. Jaylen Brown set a screen and then had a delayed one set for him by Derrick White as he curled into the corner. Jrue Holiday found him with the pass after a slight delay on the inbounds and that left Siakam in a tough situation with Brown already entering his gather in the corner.
“It looked like he was going up, so I didn’t want to (foul him),” Siakam said. “When I thought I was going to do (foul him), it was too little, too late.”
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The hesitation by Siakam allowed Brown to get off a cleaner look and make his first 3-point attempt of the game to force overtime.
“Before the inbound I was talking to myself,” Brown said. “‘If I get this shot, it’s going in.’ 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.”
Joe Mazzulla tried to downplay his role after the win but the play call was a savvy choice by the second-year coach to put the Pacers in a bind while creating a shot opportunity.
“It was a very well-executed play by the guys to create kind of indecision,” Mazzulla said. “We were maintaining. I thought D-White set a great screen, I thought Jaylen had great balance. Great pass, great shot. So just a well-executed play by the guys. Good situational awareness, and good execution.”
It was far from a perfect game for Mazzulla and the Celtics. Boston’s bench struggled in long stretches and the team was not sharp enough at points defensively. However, when it mattered most, Mazzulla got the best of veteran coach Rick Carlisle with his late-game management. The Pacers coach put the blame on himself as Indiana coughed up two turnovers late in regulation that could have led to game-clinching free throws.
“This loss is totally on me,” Carlisle said. “With 10 seconds to go in regulation, we should have just taken the timeout, advanced the ball, found a way to get it in, made a free throw or two, and ended the game. But, it didn’t happen.”
Brown will get the limelight for his clutch make but a savvy play call created the opening for an improbable comeback, making this victory a true team win for Boston.
