Milan, 22 May 2024 – The Eastern Conference final begins with a truly tiring success at the TD Garden Bostonwho prevailed in game 1 against Indiana after extra time and with the result 133-128. Extra time that the Celtics earn thanks to the triple from the corner Brown six seconds from the end, after the guests – at +3 – had thrown away a throw-in in their favor. A real sporting suicide for the Pacers, who do not commit a foul before the opponents’ shot, miss the last attempt of the regulation and give way in the extra time mainly due to the 10 points of Tatumthe best scorer of his team with 36 (plus 12 rebounds captured), followed by Holiday with 28 and Brown with 26. On the other side there were double doubles by Haliburton (25 points and 10 assists) and of I’m hungry (24 points and 12 rebounds), and the 24 points of Turner.
The story of the match
Boston made a quick start, starting with a 12-0 run. Siakam unlocks Indiana after three and a half minutes from the ball, but the momentum is all in favor of the home team, who are nine points ahead at 25-16 at mid-quarter. The bench – in particular McConnell and Toppin – gives a big hand to the Pacers, who enter the second period with just three points to recover at 34-31. Pritchard is hot and coach Mazzulla’s team maintains a good advantage, even if on the other front Turner takes the lead. It is above all thanks to him that the travelers remain afloat and slowly get closer. Before the break Indiana also manages to impact the result, the second time thanks to a triple almost from midfield by Haliburton, who scores 64 equal in the 24th minute.
At the start of the second half the team coached by coach Carlisle put their heads in front for the first time in the match, reaching +5, but Boston’s response was not long in coming. And when it arrives, it is devastating for the Pacers, who take a 16-2 break. But Indiana dies hard and in an amen they even bring themselves back to -1 (94-93) with another semi-miraculous bomb from Haliburton at the siren of the third quarter. The last half begins with the guests overtaking again, before the Celtics regain the +5. The match continues with continuous upheavals and this time the inertia passes into the hands of the Pacers, leading 115-110 with just under two minutes to go thanks to Nembhard’s basket. Nembhard who also scores the +3 with 46 seconds to go. The Celtics missed multiple attempts, the rebound 10 seconds before the final siren was captured by Indiana, with Haliburton being fouled. Then the imponderable happens: the travelers waste the throw-in, while Boston takes advantage of it to even the score with Brown. Indiana still had time to win the game, but Haliburton made a mess in the last possession and so it went to overtime. Despite the regret of not having closed practice earlier, the Pacers command overtime for large stretches. But at 123-121 in favor of the guests, with one minute and 12 seconds left, Tatum breaks out. The number 0 scored six consecutive points which gave Boston a 1-0 lead in the series.
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2024-05-22 12:27:51
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