Tyrese Haliburton Throws Game One Into the First Row, Jaylen Brown Saves City of Boston, Celtics Win 133-128

The Indiana Pacers should have won game one of the Eastern Conference Finals.

   Tyrese Haliburton threw the game into the first row in two separate crucial moments. Jaylen Brown saved the entire city of Boston hitting a contested corner three to tie the game late. Not only did this three send the game to overtime, the shades of Ray Allen shot sent a number of fourth-quarter Jayson Tatum miscues into NBA obscurity. One of the aforementioned miscues being a missed, wide-open, game-tying three with 36 seconds left in the game. A walk-up three-point attempt for a guy who is set to make $300 million this offseason to tie the game, and he misses. At first glance this is just a missed three-pointer, however, it is not. The missed shot to tie the game encapsulates a larger issue of fourth-quarter offensive inefficiency for the Celtics. The Boston Celtics are not good in the fourth quarter. The Celtics came into the postseason with a -12.1 fourth-quarter net rating as a team. Seemingly, every fourth quarter Celtics’s possession sees a high pick and roll, leading to an iso opportunity. Whether it's Joe Mazzula, Brad Stevens, or David Ortiz (would have been Mark Wahlberg however PorchTalk has not forgotten Wahlberg’s history), someone is making the call to not run plays in the fourth quarter. A lack of playcalling in the fourth quarter directly correlates with the Celtics offensive struggles in the fourth quarter. The offense simply becomes stagnant. A redundant offense in the NBA quickly turns into no offense. Rick Carlisle wants the Celtics to play this slow brand of basketball as it perfectly sets up Indiana’s fast-paced offense for rebuttal, see the Knicks series. Indiana has proven abundantly that they are willing to press the tempo for 48 minutes, which leaves zero room for any fourth-quarter woes from Boston. The Celtics played a questionable fourth quarter that can almost solely be attributed to Jayson Tatum, yet they forced overtime and ultimately won the game. How?

Indiana’s Final Minute From Hell The Indiana Pacers were up three and had the ball with a minute and change left in the fourth quarter.

   Indiana’s aforementioned minute from hell started with Tyrese Haliburton bringing the ball upcourt into a contested stepback three that may have hit the shot clock. Jaylen Brown came down with the offensive rebound and was immediately fouled by Pascal Siakam, sending Brown to the line. Indiana gets the ball back, up one, with 55 seconds left. Andrew Nembhard would hit a stepback 15-footer over Al Horford to put Indiana up three with 46 seconds remaining. Coming out of a Joe Mazzula timeout, Derrick White would inbound to Jayson Tatum, who would find himself with a step-in, wide-open three to tie the game, that he would miss. Indiana would get the rebound, up three with 30 seconds to go, cue Tyrese Haliburton. For a reason unknown to PorchTalk, Haliburton lost the ball out of bounds, giving the ball back to Boston for their second opportunity to tie the game. Boston’s possession would see a missed Derrick White layup, a Tatum offensive rebound, and a Tatum missed 10-footer. Indiana comes down with the rebound up three with 13 seconds to go. A quick Celtics foul would see Indiana inbounding with 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Shades of Larry Bird in ‘87, a poor Aaron Nembhard pass would lead to a Jaylen Brown steal, the Celtics would get their third opportunity to tie the game. The Celtics' first play run in the fourth quarter, for the entire season, was a Jrue Holiday baseline inbound that would find Jaylen Brown in the corner, who would hit the contested, game-tying three. On their third attempt to do so, the Celtics tied the game with 3 seconds left. Tyrese Haliburton would ultimately get a good look from 30 feet that he would decline, opting to dribble into the corner for a contested three that hit no aspect of the basket.

   Overtime would begin with an Al Horford block, leading to a Tatum transition dunk that would see Aaron Nesmith fouling out of the game. A possible stretch, however, Indiana’s energy seemed to shift for the worst with Nesmith not on the floor. The former Celtic is almost guaranteed to be playing with an extra source of motivation against the team that traded him only two years ago, as Jayson Tatum was of no offensive significance with Nesmith guarding him, from the three-minute mark in the fourth until Nesmith ultimately fouled out in overtime. A horrendous Jayson Tatum turnover would follow an errant Indiana possession, leading to Tyrese Haliburton shooting three free throws. Boston was down two, with the ball, and Jayson Tatum missed the layup to tie. Derrick White would secure the offensive rebound, ultimately being fouled. With no Nesmith on the floor, Nembhard would find himself on the ground in an attempt to guard Tatum from the inbound, Tatum hits the layup putting the Celtics up one.

   Tyrese Haliburton now has an attempt to win game one of the Eastern Conference Finals. A chance to erase a flurry of mistakes from memories. Except he doesn’t. Jrue Holiday pressed Haliburton for 47 feet. Haliburton ended up courtside once again. For the second time, Tyrese Haliburton had thrown game one into the first row. The following possession would see a Tatum three securing a Celtics win, yet also assuring a subpar Tatum game into NBA obscurity. Celtics take game one 133-128.

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