Pacers fall to Celtics in overtime thriller

• They were up by 3 with just 8.5 seconds left, but a closing sequence that involved a Pacers turnover on a bad pass followed by a clutch Jaylen Brown three-pointer sent the game into overtime.

Zoom in: Pascal Siakam earned a player of the game nod for his 24-point, 12- rebounds and seven-assists performance.

• Tyrese Haliburton was the Pacers point leader with 25 points to go with 10 assists; and Myles Turner turned in a double-double of his own with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

The intrigue: Indiana and Boston are the NBA's top two scoring teams of the 2023-2024 season, so this conference title showdown is sure to include a few more shootouts like last night's Beantown barn burner.

• The Pacers' 123.3 points per game are the sixth-most ever by an NBA team in a regular season, and the Celtics' 120.6 ranks 22nd on that list.

What's next: Game 2 Thursday in Boston.

• Tipoff is at 8pm on ESPN.