Biggest takeaways from Game 1 between Celtics and Pacers

Tuesday’s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers had a little bit of everything.

There was a historic level of offense. The two teams combined for 261 points, 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 Tyrese Haliburton hit two of them, one from 35 feet just before halftime and another that banked off the backboard twice before beating the third-quarter buzzer.

It all led to the frantic final moments of regulation that featured multiple miscues by the Pacers, culminating in Celtics wing Jaylen Brown 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 Thursday’s Game 2 (8 p.m. ET on ESPN) and how to describe that wild late sequence inside Boston’s TD Garden.

What is your biggest takeaway from Game 1?

Tim Bontemps: The Celtics escaped. Boston was seconds away from falling to 15-15 at home over the past three postseasons — an inexplicable statistic for a team that lost just four times at TD Garden during the 2023-24 regular season — and dropping another game to a massive playoff underdog. And yet, Boston found a way to survive behind Brown’s game-tying 3 and the poise and presence of guard Jrue Holiday. In many ways, this was the first true playoff game Boston has played during this postseason, and Holiday delivered everything the Celtics hoped he would when they acquired him on the eve of training camp in September.

Jamal Collier: The Pacers showed they can hang with the Celtics. After Boston raced out to a 12-0 lead in the first quarter, Game 1 looked like it was headed for a blowout. But Indiana responded as it has all season, overcoming two separate double-digit deficits in the contest to take the lead both times. The Pacers showed they have a blueprint to make this a competitive series against the top-seeded Celtics, especially if Haliburton can continue shooting this…