After Jayson Tatum missed a second-chance opportunity with just over 10 seconds remaining in regulation and the Celtics trailing by three, fans began to head for the exits.
The Celtics looked dead in the water.
Following an intentional take foul, giving the Pacers a side-out inbound opportunity, all Indiana needed to do was inbound the ball and make a free throw to seal the victory.
On the inbound, Andrew Nembhard tried to pass to Pascal Siakam, but Jaylen Brown’s tight defense forced a turnover, giving the Celtics new life and the ball with eight seconds remaining.
On the ensuing possession, Jrue Holiday found Brown in the corner with a beautiful inbounds pass. Despite being smothered by Siakam, Brown confidently rose up and fired the corner three, looking to tie the game with a tough corner three.
Money.
“I was just talking to myself, ‘If I get this shot, it’s going in.’ I was telling myself the whole time, ‘If you get it, it’s going up, and it’s going in.’ I can create some space on their backside and was able to make a big-time play,” Brown said after the game.
The shot sent TD Garden into a frenzy and even elicited the rare “Double-bang” from Mike Breen, words that have only been uttered seven times in the history of our glorious game.
“Big-time players make big-time plays,” Jayson Tatum said postgame. “Simple as that.”
The triple was Brown’s first make of the final frame, and it could not have come at a more significant moment.
“JB making that shot was just unbelievable,” Al Horford said. “Once he did that, I feel like that kind of picked us back up. And at that point, we were confident that we had an opportunity, to get a stop, to finish the quarter, and head to overtime. Just a big play by him there. Then, in the OT, executing and getting stops when we needed to was key.”
Brown was the hero the Celtics needed in Game 1, especially after a tough start to the fourth quarter. The All-NBA wing had struggled early in the frame, turning the ball over and missing his first three shots. However, the best players rise to the occasion in crunch moments, and Brown did just that in Game 1—singlehandedly willing his team to overtime with his big-time shot, lockdown defense, and a pair of clutch free throws in the final minute.
“Anything can happen. The game is not over until the final whistle - the final buzzer sounds. That was a good example of that. We were able to turn it over a little bit towards the end. We had Haliburton on the sideline, and I was able to get the deflection off of Siakam, that just extended the game,” Brown said.
“It’s not over till it’s over. We just found a way to win the game at the very end.”
Brown hasn’t shied away from discussing how last year’s loss in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals motivated him, and in Game 1, that motivation was clear. Aside from that tough stretch early in the fourth quarter, Brown had a terrific night, providing rock-solid services on both ends of the floor, finishing with 26 points on 10-of-20 (50%) shooting, seven boards, five assists, three steals, and a massive block on old friend Aaron Nesmith.
Game 1 was a reminder of why the Celtics extended Brown’s contract. The 27-year-old has been one of the most scrutinized players in Boston sports, yet he has brought nothing but success to the city. He’s reached the Conference Finals in six of his eight years with the organization, earned All-Star honors three times, and All-NBA honors twice. Now, he’s playing the best basketball of his career, as the Celtics are right in the middle of their championship window.
This isn’t about one shot, one game, or one minute. Brown has been doing this all season long, stepping up both as a player and a leader, using past failures as fuel, and he won’t be content until he brings Boston that coveted Banner 18.
“I think it’s always great to come out with a win. But obviously, we got to tighten up in some areas, and we’re gonna watch the film,” Brown said. “I think the majority of it was just transition. I think they just -- we knew they were gonna be fast; it didn’t surprise us. But it’s one thing watching it on film and then seeing it in person, and they just got out of the dogfight in New York, and it just felt like they were just flying by us getting easy layups. So, we gotta be better. We gotta match their intensity if we want to win this series.”
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