BOSTON — Jaylen Brown hit the biggest shot of the game. Jayson Tatum scored 10 of Boston’s 16 points in overtime. They were crucial to the Celtics taking Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Indiana Pacers, but Brown and Tatum believed one of their teammates was just as instrumental — perhaps even […]
BOSTON — Jaylen Brown hit the biggest shot of the game. Jayson Tatum scored 10 of Boston’s 16 points in overtime.
They were crucial to the Celtics taking Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Indiana Pacers, but Brown and Tatum believed one of their teammates was just as instrumental — perhaps even more than them — for Boston to walk away with a 133-128 win in overtime at TD Garden on Tuesday night.
Brown bestowed heaps of praise on Jrue Holiday, and for good reason. The savvy veteran guard showed his postseason mettle with a tremendous performance. Holiday scored a season-high 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting to go along with eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals in 48 minutes.
“Jrue was fantastic. Jrue was exceptional. Shoutout to Jrue,” Brown said. “Jrue came out and balled, man. He was the reason why we won this game. I think he was poised, took advantage of his matchups. He was just so elite. And that is a lot. He’s guarding (Tyrese) Haliburton, picking him up, chasing him around. That was special from Jrue Holiday.”
Tatum made sure to give Holiday his flowers, too.
“Jrue Holiday played unbelievable on both ends of the floor,” Tatum said.
Holiday was the steadying force for the Celtics when they needed him most. He scored 20 of his 28 points in the second half and overtime, including knocking down 4-of-5 shots in the fourth quarter to make sure things didn’t slip away from the Celtics as they battled back and forth with the Pacers.
Holiday is the only member of the Celtics who has won an NBA title previously and the Celtics sure do have complete faith in him. It showed in a big way in Game 1 as Holiday never came off the floor after halftime.
“He’s the kind of guy that’s going to impact the game in different ways every night,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzula said. “Tonight it was his scoring, his playmaking and his defense, a well-rounded game by him. Just his poise and his demeanor throughout the game was instrumental for us.”
