Tyrese Haliburton produces miraculous buzzer beater but Celtics still beat Pacers

The Boston Celtics took the first step toward the NBA Finals with a narrow victory against the Indiana Pacers in overtime on Tuesday.

As the Eastern Conference's first seed, Boston was expected to beat its guests from Indianapolis. Yet the Pacers proved to be stubborn opponents and were seconds away from victory before a last-gasp 3-pointer from Jaylen Brown saved the hosts.

That pushed Game 1 into overtime and the Celtics made their momentum count at TD Garden, winning 133-128. The night belonged to Jayson Tatum, who sunk 36 points. Jrue Holiday also played a huge role in the win, picking up 28 points.

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The leading points scorer for the Pacers was Tyrese Haliburton (25), who again showed his ability to play at the highest level. His performance against the Celtics comes just days after he hit 26 points at Madison Square Garden to knockout the Knicks.

The 24-year-old produced a stunning buzzer beater at the end of the third quarter, jumping toward his left and launching the ball with both feet off the ground. Somehow, Haliburton's optimistic 3-pointer found the net to make it a one-point game.

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After that, the Pacers took control of the game and seemed destined for the win with 117-114 lead and six seconds remaining. But Brown had other ideas, finding the net from 23 feet. There's a reason why the Celtics won 64 games in the regular season.

"Indiana, they play so fast," said Brown after the game. "They put pressure on your and we gotta be better. Give credit to Indiana, they played hella fast, we have to keep up."

When asked about making clutch plays in overtime, Brown added: "We made some momentum plays. JT (Tatum) finally woke up and made some baskets. We were able to make some plays toward the end. We have to be better to be honest, but I'll take the win."

Brown also commented on his game-saving 3-pointer. He said: "It's the playoffs. We drew up a play and it was perfectly executed. I told Jrue I was going to be open in the corner and I was and knocked it down. It went exactly how we planned it."

Boston will now be looking to win at the TD Garden again on Thursday before the series heads to Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the home of the Pacers. If their first meeting is anything to go by, this series could go the distance.