Jayson Tatum Hyped By NBA Fans for Clutch OT as Celtics Beat Haliburton, Pacers in G1

It's not often that the No. 1 seed playing at home steals a win in the Eastern Conference Finals, but that is exactly what happened Tuesday.

The Boston Celtics needed overtime, but they defeated the Indiana Pacers 133-128 in Game 1 at TD Garden. The biggest moments of the game came at the end of regulation when the Pacers blew a golden opportunity to seize momentum in the series with two straight turnovers in the final 30 seconds with a three-point lead.

As if that wasn't bad enough, they chose not to foul up three in the last 10 seconds and watched Jaylen Brown force overtime with a triple.

The writing was on the wall by overtime, and Jayson Tatum delivered his team the win with an and-1 play and three-pointer on back-to-back possessions to create some much-needed separation.

Tatum finished with 36 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals and drew plenty of praise from social media in the process:

The top-seeded Celtics haven't truly been challenged in a series these playoffs, and it was fair to expect more of the same in this matchup considering the Pacers benefited from key injuries to the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks in the first two rounds.

Still, Indiana took two of five meetings from Boston this season and entered with plenty of momentum after winning a Game 7 on the road against the Knicks. And it looked up for the fight when it quickly bounced back from the Celtics' 12-0 run to open the game and tied it by halftime thanks to a deep three from Tyrese Haliburton.

It wasn't just Haliburton, as Myles Turner was brilliant with a combination of monster slams, spin moves on the blocks, silky smooth perimeter shots and even timely facilitating. Throw in Obi Toppin providing a spark off the bench, and the visitors did not look intimidated.

That was the theme of much of the game, as Boston built a double-digit lead in the second half just for the Pacers to come storming back. Whether it was an acrobatic Haliburton three to end the third quarter, T.J. McConnell directing the show on both ends for stretches, Pascal Siakam scoring and even Andrew Nembhard hitting a clutch shot, everything lined up for Indiana.

And then it completely collapsed.

The decision to not foul can be debated, but it was the back-to-back turnovers in the last 30 seconds of regulation that stand out the most. Even a single point on either of those possessions would have been enough to earn a monumental win on the road and take control of the series.

Instead, all the momentum is on Boston's side as it looks to defend home-court advantage once again in Thursday's Game 2.