Brown saved it, Tatum finished it—Boston tops Indiana in overtime thriller

They were on the brink of defeat and then came back with a dramatic three-pointer. The Boston Celtics, the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) top-seeded team in the regular season, took the first step toward the championship game with a hard-fought Game 1 victory.

The Celtics defeated the Indiana Pacers 133-128 in overtime in Game 1 of the best-of-seven 2023-2024 NBA Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden in Boston on Wednesday. 스포츠토토존 The two teams will meet in Game 2 on Nov. 24 at the same location.

Boston, which finished the regular season with a 64-18 record and a .780 winning percentage to lead the NBA, came back from the brink of defeat in dramatic fashion. Trailing 114-117 with six seconds left in the fourth quarter, Jaylen Brown’s three-pointer off a pass from Jrue Halladay hit the rim to dramatically tie the game at 117-117 and send the game into overtime.

The balance of the game continued to tip in Boston’s favor in overtime, with Jayson Tatum hitting a three-pointer off a pass from Derrick White with 42.2 seconds left in regulation to give Boston a 124-123 lead. White followed with a layup to make it 129-123 with 25 seconds left in regulation. With 12.2 seconds left, Indiana’s Obi Toffin hit two free throws to pull within 131-128, but Tatum hit two free throws with 8.2 seconds left to seal the deal.

Tatum led the way with a 36-point, 12-rebound performance, including 10 points in overtime alone. Halladay and Brown chipped in with 28 and 26 points, respectively. Indiana was led by Tyreese Halliburton’s 25 points and 10 assists and Myles Turner’s 23 points and 10 rebounds.