Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals between the and had a little bit of everything: There was a historic level of offense. The two teams combined for 261, the highest-scoring game so far this postseason and the most combined points in a conference finals game since 1987. There were critical turnovers.
The Pacers gave it away 22 times, their second most this season, but it didn't stop the heavy underdog from overcoming multiple double-digit deficits, including a 12-0 run by the Celtics to open the game. There were momentum-shifting shots from long range. Pacers All-Star guard hit two of them, one from 35 feet just before halftime and another that banked off the .
It all led to the frantic final moments of regulation that featured multiple miscues by the Pacers, culminating in Celtics wing burying a contested corner 3-pointer that forced overtime and helped Boston pull off a 133-128 miracle win. Now that we're up to speed on one of the wildest games of the 2024 postseason, our NBA insiders are breaking down the biggest moments of Game 1, what could be next in (8 p.m.
ET on ESPN) and how to describe that wild late sequence inside Boston's TD Garden. After Pascal Siakam's blunder, the Celtics get the ball back and Jaylen Brown's contested corner heave ties it up with 5.7 left in the fourth quarter.
The Celtics escaped. Boston was seconds away from falling to 15-15 at home over the last three postseasons -- an inexplicable statistic for a team that lost just four games inside .
