Jaylen Brown hailed the Boston Celtics' never-say-die attitude after his last-gasp 3-pointer teed up their overtime win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
The Indiana Pacers were just 6.1 seconds away from a 117-114 road win in the opening game of the series on Tuesday, only for Brown to sink a 3 over Pascal Siakam from the corner to level things up.
Two Tyrese Haliburton free throws put the Pacers back in front in overtime, but Jayson Tatum scored 10 of his game-high 36 points in the additional period as Boston triumphed 133-128.
Jrue Holiday supported Tatum with 28 points, while Brown added 26. All three players finished with three steals apiece as Indiana committed 21 turnovers.
Speaking after the dramatic finale, Brown said: "Welcome to the NBA playoffs! You've just got to manage your emotions. Anything can happen.
"It's not over until the final buzzer sounds. It's not over until it’s over. We found a way to win the game at the very end."
Holiday echoed those sentiments, adding: "We've seen crazy stuff happen all the time.
"We don't think we've lost a game until we've actually lost the game. That's part of the reason why we were so resilient towards the end.
"A couple of turnovers, a great shot, a great look by JB, or at the other end if we make a couple other shots that were wide open it could be a completely different game.
"We're just the type of team that's going to keep on fighting no matter how long and no matter what it takes."
The Celtics host Game 2 on Thursday as they target a first NBA Finals appearance since 2021-22, when they were runners-up to the Golden State Warriors.
Asked how Boston will approach Game 2, Tatum said: "Don't relax, it'll be different circumstances. The first two rounds we won our Game 1 by a wide margin, so maybe human nature played into that.
"But tonight being a close game, going into overtime, we certainly felt like we should have won and we could have played better."
Report: Malik Monk returns to Kings on four-year contract
The Sacramento Kings will retain a key piece into the foreseeable future as they look to build upon two straight trips to the NBA's play-in tournament.
Deft scoring guard Malik Monk agreed to remain with the Kings on a four-year, $78million contract, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported late Thursday night.
The last year of the deal reportedly carries a player option.
Monk set career highs last season by averaging 15.4 points and 5.1 assists while finishing second in Sixth Man of the Year award voting.
Monk, a seven-year veteran out of Kentucky, was due to be an unrestricted free agent on June 30.
Monk had been linked to several teams searching for an infusion of perimeter scoring in free agency, including the Philadelphia 76ers and the Orlando Magic, but those clubs will now need to look elsewhere.
Monk has averaged 11.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 458 career NBA games.
While the Kings have yet to win a play-off series since 2004, Sacramento have strung together back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2004-06. In 2023, the club ended a 16-year post-season drought and forced the defending champion Golden State Warriors to a Game 7 in their first-round play-off series loss.
Report: Malik Monk returns to Kings on 4-year contract
The Sacramento Kings will retain a key piece into the foreseeable future as they look to build upon two straight trips to the NBA’s play-in tournament.
Deft scoring guard Malik Monk agreed to remain with the Kings on a four-year, $78million contract, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported late Thursday night.
The last year of the deal reportedly carries a player option.
Monk set career highs last season by averaging 15.4 points and 5.1 assists while finishing second in Sixth Man of the Year award voting.
Monk, a seven-year veteran out of Kentucky, was due to be an unrestricted free agent on June 30.
Monk had been linked to several teams searching for an infusion of perimeter scoring in free agency, including the Philadelphia 76ers and the Orlando Magic, but those clubs will now need to look elsewhere.
Monk has averaged 11.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 458 career NBA games.
While the Kings have yet to win a play-off series since 2004, Sacramento have strung together back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2004-06. In 2023, the club ended a 16-year post-season drought and forced the defending champion Golden State Warriors to a Game 7 in their first-round play-off series loss.
Thunder reportedly acquiring Caruso from Bulls for Giddey
Oklahoma City and Chicago have swapped guards, with the Thunder acquiring Alex Caruso from the Bulls in exchange for Josh Giddey on Thursday.
ESPN was the first to report the trade, which cannot become official until July 6.
The 30-year-old Caruso is considered one of the NBA's top defenders, having been named to a pair of All-Defensive teams.
He is also viewed as an important role player for a potential championship contender after helping the Los Angeles Lakers win the 2019-20 title.
The Thunder finished with the Western Conference's best record this past season, but were knocked out of the play-offs in the semi-final round by the Dallas Mavericks.
A seven-year NBA veteran, Caruso averaged career highs of 10.1 points and 3.8 rebounds this past season, along with 3.5 assists and 1.69 steals while starting 57 of 71 games.
Giddey, the sixth overall pick of the 2021 draft, started 80 games for the Thunder this past season, but saw his numbers drop from 2022-23.
After averaging 16.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists in his second season, the 21-year-old Giddey averaged 12.3 points, 6.4 boards and 4.8 assists in 2023-24. He is a career 46.4 per cent shooter from 3-point range.
He was investigated for having an improper relationship with an underage girl, but the NBA and police were "unable to corroborate any criminal activity."
The NBA dropped its investigation.
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