Three stars from Tuesday's NBA playoffs
The Celtics and Pacers needed 53 minutes to decide Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, trading clutch shots, buzzer-beaters and steals before Boston outlasted Indiana, 133-128. After a thrilling opening game, here are three stars from the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown | 26 points, three steals
Before this season, Jaylen Brown signed the biggest contract in NBA history. In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Brown hit one of the biggest shots of the playoffs, nailing a corner three-pointer to send the game to overtime with Indiana's Pascal Siakam draped all over him to try and deny the shot.
It was Brown's only three of the game, but possibly the most important shot of his NBA career so far. It tied the game 117-117, opening the door for Jayson Tatum's big performance in overtime.
Brown also hit two clutch free throws in the final minute, and just before his huge shot, his defense forced a Pacers turnover on an inbounds play that kept Indiana's lead at three points.
Brown's defense was all over the Game 1 win. After scoring Boston's first points of overtime, he preserved their late lead by stealing the ball from Pascal Siakam. While this wasn't his most impactful defensive play, Brown's most impressive defense came when he blocked Aaron Nesmith's shot, and then threw the ball off him out of bounds.
After the game, teammate Jrue Holiday said of Brown, "He pretty much did everything." When a guy saves the game on defense and offense, we're inclined to agree.
Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday | 28 points, eight assists
On Tuesday morning, Jrue Holiday was named to the sixth All-Defensive Team of his NBA career. On Tuesday night, Holiday reminded viewers that he can play a little offense, too.
Holiday shot 4-of-5 to keep the Celtics offense afloat in the fourth quarter, and scored 18 of his 28 points after halftime to lead Boston.
Boston's offense doesn't usually revolve around Holiday post-ups, but he knew he could go to work on Pacers rookie Ben Sheppard.
He also threw the pass that got Brown his big shot. But it wouldn't be a Holiday game without him contributing on defense, which he did with three steals and one big drawn charge while playing 48 minutes. Holiday also helped hold Tyrese Haliburton scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton | 25 points, 10 assists
This third star slot could have been Siakam, who had 24 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, but it's hard to give props to the guy playing defense with his arms behind his back as Brown nailed his big three.
Instead, we'll go with Haliburton's huge effort, which included a buzzer-beater three from the Celtics logo to end the first half.
It also included a difficult, leaning, banked-in three to beat the buzzer at the end of the third quarter.
He finished with 25 points on 8-of-18 shooting, taking all but four of his shots from behind the arc. In the fourth, he didn't shoot much but dished three assists, including dimes to Siakam on consecutive possessions.
Haliburton also made what might have been remembered as the biggest defensive play of the game had things ended differently, swatting Derrick White from behind with a minute to go.
Unfortunately, he and his teammates couldn't hang onto or score the ball enough in the final minute, and Game 1 ended in heartbreak for Indiana.
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