NBA playoffs: Jaylen Brown’s clutch 3 stuns Pacers as Celtics rip Game 1 from Pacers in OT

The Indiana Pacers appeared to have a Game 1 upset in hand.

Jaylen Brown had other ideas.

The Boston Celtics All-Star stunned the Pacers with a 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation to tie Tuesday’s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals at 117-117. The game then went into overtime, where the Celtics prevailed, 132-128 to take a 1-0 series lead.

The Pacers led, 115-110 late and appeared to be in control with the ball and a 117-114 advantage with 8.5 seconds left in regulation. But they turned the ball over on a sloppy inbounds pass to breath new life into the Celtics. Brown took full advantage.

With Pascal Siakam in his face, Brown launched a 3-pointer from the left corner that found the bottom of the net as the clock red 5.7 seconds to secure the extra session.

There, Jayson Tatum scored eight points including a 3-pointer with 42.8 seconds remaining to extend a Boston lead to 127-123. From there, the Celtics controlled game that saw dramatic swings for both sides from the game’s opening tip. Boston walks with the early advantage in a series they’re heavily favored to win.

Indiana leaves with a bitter taste, having blown a golden opportunity to take a 1-0 advantage over the NBA’s best team from the regular season as the No. 6 seed in the East. On a night where they shot 53.5% from the field and 37.1% from 3, the late turnover that set up Brown’s 3-point heroics was Indiana’s defining play of the night.

Indiana had possession of the ball in the backcourt on an inbounds play with 10 seconds remaining. Andrew Nembhard was the inbounds man and first looked to Tyrese Haliburton on the baseline. With Jrue Holiday smothering Haliburton, Nembhard then looked to a cutting Siakam. But Brown was in close pursuit and made a play on the soft pass from Nembhard. The ball bounced off Siakam’s hands out of bounds to set up Brown’s fateful 3-pointer.

The turnover was one of 21 on the night for Indiana on a night where their offense was otherwise stellar. But the giveaways ultimately cost the Pacers the game.

This story will be updated.