Indiana Pacers Turnovers Lead to Boston Celtics Game One Win

1. First Quarter

Tonight marked the first time in ten years that the Indiana Pacers were playing in the Eastern Conference Championship. The start of tonight’s game felt very similar to game one against the Milwaukee Bucks. Indiana looked nervous and timid offensively. Boston blitzed Indiana with twelve straight points to open the quarter in the first 2:43. Jaylen Brown was the Celtic that got the scoring started. Pascal Siakam was responsible for the first Pacer basket after six consecutive misses by the team. It was the beginning of a barrage by the Pacers because they would hit six of their next seven shots. With 4:20 left in the quarter, Indiana trailed 25-18 after a Myles Turner putback. Obi Toppin closed the quarter by scoring 11 of Indiana’s 13 points. Despite the slow start, Indiana was able to make it a 34-31 game after the first quarter. Toppin led all scorers with 11 points followed by Boston’s Brown with 10 points. Both teams shot over 54% from the field.

2. Second Quarter

After outscoring the Celtics 31-22 the final 9:17, they were able to prevent Boston from pushing its lead back to a dozen. The Celtics scored five quick points to start the quarter after a Payton Pritchard three and pullup two-pointer. Indiana was able to keep its deficit around six points before Jrue Holiday converted a layup nine seconds after a missed three from Andrew Nembhard to make it 47-37. Indiana scored five points to cut its lead in half with a three and layup from Turner. He was responsible for ten straight points for the Pacers, but Boston was matching Turner’s baskets. Holiday buried his only three of the quarter to put the Celtics ahead 55-47. Indiana responded with eight straight points to tie the game up for the first time since 0-0 after an Aaron Nesmith dunk. Derrick White converted a three with 19 seconds remaining in the first half and then Tyrese Haliburton closed the quarter with a logo three to tie the game at 64 at intermission. Turner led all scorers at halftime with 18 points followed by Brown with 14 points. Haliburton, Toppin, White, and Jayson Tatum all scored at least ten points in the half. Both teams shot over 52% in the first half, but Boston’s defense force Indiana to turn the ball over eight times.

3. Third Quarter

After failing to lead at all in the first half, the Indiana Pacers began the second half on top after Haliburton got to the basket for a layup following a miss from Tatum. Indiana’s All-Star followed up his layup with a triple that put Indiana ahead by a game high five points with 10:44 left in the third quarter. Boston quickly tied the game thirty-five seconds later after an Al Horford three and Brown layup. The two teams were tied at 71 with 9:23 left in the third and then Indiana’s offense went cold. Boston outscored Indiana 19-6 to take a 90-77 lead with 4:15 left in the third after a Holiday three ball. Another field goal from Holiday put the Celtics ahead by 13 points with 3:23 remaining in the quarter. Indiana’s offense woke up and closed the quarter strong. The Pacers held the Celtics to just two points during that stretch while scoring 14 points. The final three points of the quarter were scored on a buzzer beater three from Haliburton that hit the backboard, the rim, and then miraculously fell through the cylinder to make it a one-point deficit. Boston’s lead was 94-93. Tatum had the most points in the quarter with 11 points to lead all scorers with 22 points. Indiana’s leading scorer was Turner with 20 points. Both teams converted eleven threes through three quarters, but Boston outscored Indiana at the free throw line by thirteen points.

4. Fourth Quarter

After closing the third quarter with a run to silence the TD Garden and reclaim the momentum, Indiana got the first basket of the fourth to take the lead with a Siakam jumper. Boston countered with a 6-0 run to go ahead by five pints after Tatum scored four points and a field goal from Holiday. The Pacers would not go away. With 5:43 remaining in regulation, the two teams were tied at 104 following a three-pointer from Turner. His three jumpstarted a 7-0 run, allowing Indiana going ahead 108-104 with 4:33 left in the fourth. Boston trimmed its deficit down to one twice, but Indiana was able to push the lead back to four points and then five points on the second time. Going into the fourth quarter, Indiana turned the ball over 13 times. After a Nembhard step back two-point shot, Indiana went ahead 117-113 with 46.8 seconds left. Tatum took a pullup three, Haliburton dribbled the ball off his foot to give it back to Boston with 27.7 seconds left, and then White and Tatum missed layups. Indiana had the ball with ten seconds left and just needed to inbound the basketball and make one free throw. Nembhard’s inbound pass to Siakam went towards the baseline and ended up going out of bounds for the 19th turnover in the game. Holiday inbounded the ball into the far corner to Brown who drilled a three to tie the game at 117. Indiana could not draw up a successful play and went to overtime after collapsing the final 40 seconds.

5. Overtime

With Indiana collapsing in the fourth quarter, the TD Garden was rocking. Both teams struggled at the start of overtime to score. Haliburton’s three with 3:45 left in the overtime period was the first basket. Brown got to the rim and converted a layup on the following Celtics possession to make it a one-point game. Nembhard missed a floater and then Tatum got fouled and put the Celtics ahead by a point after nailing both free throws. Indiana was bailed out because White fouled Haliburton on a three. Tyrese made all three to put his team up 123-121 with 1:46 left in overtime. Tatum scored another layup and was fouled to put Boston up one. Indiana turned it over for the 21st time with Haliburton losing his balance and falling out of bounds because of the pressure by Holiday. Tatum scored again for Boston, but this time it was outside the three-point line that put the Celtics ahead 127-123 with 42.9 seconds left. Siakam went up for a quick layup but turned it over because Brown wrenched the ball out of his hands. With 25.2 seconds left, the Celtics went up six points after a White layup. Indiana had a slight chance after T.J. McConnell missed the back half of two free throw and Toppin was fouled on the putback. Toppin made both free throws that made it 131-128 with 12.9 seconds left. Boston easily inbounded the ball and Tatum iced the game with two free throws. Boston steals game one from Indiana with a 133-128 overtime victory.

6. Top Performers

Jayson Tatum (36p, 12r, 4a, 3s), Jrue Holiday (28p, 8a, 7r, 4 threes, 3s), Jaylen Brown (26p, 7r, 5a, 3s), Al Horford (15p, 6r, 3b), and Derrick White (15p, 9a, 6r, 2s, 1b). For Indiana, Tyrese Haliburton (25p, 10a, 3r, 3s, 3 turnovers), Pascal Siakam (24p, 12r, 7a), Myles Turner (23p, 10r, 4a, 3 threes), Obi Toppin (15p, 4r, 3 turnovers), Aaron Nesmith (14p, 6r, 5 turnovers), T.J. McConnell (13p, 4a, 3r), and Andrew Nembhard (12p, 7a, 3r). For tonight’s full box score, click here.

7. Notes

• Indiana Pacers are now 0-3 in game one’s this postseason
  • Pacers have now lost 9 of the last 12 game one’s
• Boston Celtics are now 3-0 in game one’s this postseason
  • Celtics are 0-2 in game two’s
• Indiana Pacers are now 3-6 when losing the turnover margin (won previous two games)
• Indiana’s 22 turnovers are tied for second most in a game all season
• Boston Celtics have the best free throw differential (+93) this playoffs
• Indiana Pacers have the worst free throw differential (-100)) this playoffs
• Tyrese Haliburton recorded 4th double-double of the postseason
• Tyrese Haliburton’s 6 threes tie Reggie Miller for the most threes in an ECF game by a Pacer
• Pascal Siakam recorded 3rd double-double of the postseason
  • Siakam has now scored 20+ points in four straight games
• Myles Turner logged his 2nd double-double of the postseason
  • Turner scored 20+ points for the fifth time this postseason
• Jayson Tatum notched his 9th double-double of the playoffs (11 games)
  • Tatum fourth straight game with 25+ points and 10+ rebounds
  • Tatum has scored 30+ points in three of the last four games (only games with 30+ points in the playoffs)
• Jrue Holiday’s 28 points are the most he’s scored in a game since scoring 51 points against the Indiana Pacers on 3/29/23 with the Milwaukee Bucks

8. Next Up

Every game this series will only feature a day off between games. Game two between the Pacers and Celtics will be on Thursday night from the TD Garden. Jeremiah Johnson will get things started with the Kroger Pregame Show at 7:30pm. Mark Boyle and Eddie Gill will have the play-by-play starting at 8pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan. The series schedule:

• Game 1 – Tuesday, May 21st, 2024, at TD Garden – BOS 133 – 128 (OT)
• Game 2 – Thursday, May 23rd, 2024, at TD Garden – 8pm (ESPN)
• Game 3 – Saturday, May 25th, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse – 8:30pm (ABC)
• Game 4 – Monday, May 27th, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse – 8pm (ESPN)
• Game 5 (if necessary) – Wednesday, May 29th, 2024, at TD Garden – 8pm (ESPN)
• Game 6 (if necessary) – Friday, May 31st, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse – 8pm (ESPN)
• Game 7 (if necessary) – Sunday, June 2nd, 2024, at TD Garden – 8pm (ESPN)