Celtics Hold Court In OT Against The Pacers In Game 1 (5-21-24)
By: Xavier Jones
Headline Photo Courtesy: Bleachers Report
In game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, you could tell that this game was going to be a hard-fought battle. At the beginning of the game, it looked like the Boston Celtics were going to run away with this game. However, the Indiana Pacers fought back and showed that they weren’t going to be pushed over. Every time Boston made a run, the Pacers would answer with a big shot, good defense, and a run of their own. Going into halftime tied at 64, the Celtics would come out strong to start the 3rd quarter. Once again, the Pacers stood strong, weathered the storm, and made a run themselves to end the quarter.
Going into the 4th quarter with some momentum on their side, the Pacers looked poised to steal game 1 and home-court advantage away from the Celtics. However, late in the fourth quarter, the Pacers started to unravel and commit careless turnovers that Boston would capitalize off of. With the Pacers up by 3 with only seconds left in the game, Jaylen Brown would knock down a well-defended corner 3-pointer to send the game into overtime. In overtime, Indiana would manage to take control until the Celtics defense caused more uncharacteristic turnovers by Indiana. These turnovers would prove to be too much for the Pacers to overcome. Boston would go on to seal the deal, win game 1, and protect home court.
The Celtics were led by Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Jrue Holiday, who all scored 25 or more points in the game. The final score was 133-128. It was a sloppy game by the Pacers, and the Celtics managed to capitalize when needed. Game 2 will be Thursday, May 23rd, at the TD Garden in Boston.
