Jaylen Brown finished with 26 points, a career-high 15 rebounds and six assists as the Boston Celtics held off the visiting Indiana Pacers 101-98 in overtime on Monday night.
Brown’s floater with 2:34 left in OT put the Celtics in front for good as Boston outscored the visitors 12-9 in the extra period.
Down 98-95 with 12.2 seconds left, Indiana’s Lance Stephenson missed a tying 3-point attempt before Brown made 1-of-2 free throws with 4.3 seconds on the clock.
Justin Holiday made three free throws after being fouled shooting a three with three seconds to play. Jayson Tatum made a pair of free throws with 2.5 seconds to go and Indiana turned over the inbound pass on a full-court heave.
Tatum had 24 points and 12 rebounds, Robert Williams III contributed 14 points and 12 boards and Marcus Smart added 11 points. Smart exited the game in the third quarter with a right thigh contusion and did not return.
Boston has won two straight and four of its last six games overall.
Torrey Craig had 19 points off the bench to lead Indiana. Stephenson added 14 points while Damontas Sabonis recorded a triple-double with 11 points, 23 rebounds and 10 assists for the Pacers.
The loss was the Pacers’ seventh in eight games following a 125-113 win against Utah on Saturday that snapped a season-high six-game skid.
It was the first of a home-and-home series between the Celtics and Pacers. Boston will travel to Indiana to complete the set on Wednesday night.
Boston led 42-39 at halftime and opened a 12-point lead late in the third before carrying a 68-60 advantage into the final period.
Indiana used a 16-7 push to take its first lead since the opening minutes at 76-75 after Sabonis’ layup with 5:54 remaining.
The Pacers led by as many as four in the final minute before a pair of Williams free throws made it 89-87. After Stephenson missed a stepback jumper with 15.7 seconds remaining, Tatum made a contested jumper to tie it with 1.8 seconds on the clock.
Holiday missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
–Field Level Media