WATCH: Tyrese Haliburton silences TD Garden with clutch circus shot over Jaylen Brown
NBA All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton led the Indiana Pacers' spirited stand against the top-ranked Boston Celtics in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday. He did it on both ends, allowing his team to keep in step with the home squad.
While at it, he also provided highlight-reel plays, including a circus shot from beyond the arc to end the third quarter.
The play came with 3.4 seconds remaining in the third period with the Celtics leading 94-90. Tyrese Haliburton fielded an inbounds pass from Ben Shepperd and then hit a tough-angled triple over Jaylen Brown that hit the backboard before going in to narrow the gap at 94-93 as the quarter expired and silenced the crowd at the TD Garden.
The play capped an impressive charge-back by the Pacers in the third period, that saw them trail by 13 points at one point, 90-77, after starting the period knotted at 64-all.
Boston Celtics survive Tyrese Haliburton and Pacers in overtime
The Boston Celtics had to dig deep to survive Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, 133-128, in overtime on Tuesday at home.
The Celtics had to battle back in the dying seconds of regulation to force overtime and avoid dropping the series opener against the Pacers, who showed a lot of grit and resilience throughout the contest.
Boston got off to fast starts in the first and third quarters but saw the Pacers fight back each time on the lead of Haliburton.
In the fourth quarter, the two teams went back-and-forth, battling to a 117-all count with 5.7 seconds left in the game after a Jaylen Brown three-pointer.
Haliburton had a chance to win the game in regulation but his three-point heave failed to hit the mark as time expired.
In overtime, the teams continued to battle it out, going on runs and counter-runs. The Pacers held a 123-121 lead with 1:46 left after three made free throws by Haliburton.
But Jayson Tatum responded to make it 124-123 in Boston's favor. 'JT' followed it up with a three-pointer off a turnover by the Pacers to make it 127-123 for the Celtics with 42 seconds remaining.
The Celtics defense continued to wreak havoc on the Pacers thereafter, not allowing the visitors an opportunity for any comeback. Tatum top-scored for the Celtics with 36 points, to go along with 12 rebounds. Jrue Holiday had 28 points while Brown had 26.
For Indiana, Haliburton led with 25 points and 10 assists. Pascal Siakam had 24 points and Myles Turner had 23 points
Game 2 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals is set for Thursday still in Boston.