Jrue Holiday has not been counted on to produce big scoring numbers while performing all of the other duties required of as starting point guard in the NBA playoffs.
Holiday put together another complete game in the Celtics 133-128 overtime victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday night at the TD Garden.
“It definitely was a battle and the type of team they are, they are never going to give up,” said Holiday. “They were like that all year and especially in their playoff run.
“I think we have been trying to be consistent as possible on the boards and trying to stop them in transition. They pass the ball up and use the clock well, especially off the rebound. That is something we are going to go back and look at.”
The 6-5, 220-pound, 15-year pro out of UCLA had his best game of the playoffs by the end of regulation. Holiday shot 10-of-16 from the floor with four treys, six rebounds, six boards, three steals and season-high 26 points. His average in the Celtics previous 10 playoff games against Miami and Cleveland was 10.4 points per game.
“Jrue is the that kind of guy, and credit him for making the (NBA) All-Defensive (second) team,” said Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla. “He is the kind of guy that can impact a game in different ways every night and tonight it was his scoring, his playmaking and his defense and his all-around game.
“I thought his poise and his demeanor through out the game was instrumental for us.”
Holiday played the entire overtime frame to lead the team with 48 minutes. He added three assists and a rebound to his regulation stats and iced the game with two free throws with 16.7 seconds on the clock. His previous high this season was 22 versus San Antonio on Jan. 17 and his career high is 51 against Indiana on March 29, 2023. The Celtics outscored the Pacers 16-11 in the extra frame but needed some lucky turnovers to force the OT.
“I think we knew there was always a chance, we’ve seen crazy stuff happen all the time,” said Holiday. “I don’t think we’ve lost the game until we lost the game and that is part of the reason why we are so resilient.
“Like I said, anything can happen and we made some shots when we were wide open and we win the game.”
Holiday had some big moments during the course of the game. He hit his first 3-point shot from 26 feet during the Celtics’ opening 12-0 run. He had another to make it 74-71 at 9:12 of the third and opened the fourth quarter with a pair of short jumpers.
“I’m just continuing to be aggressive and continue to work on my game and continually have the coaches and my teammates and my coaches in my ear telling me that they are going to need me,” said Holiday. “Just being aggressive no matter what end of the floor, we are on. If we continue to do that, we will see what happens.
Holiday had been building for this moment as one of general manager Brad Stevens key offseason team building additions. He appeared in 69 games in the regular season, all starts, and averaged 12.5 points with a career high 5.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game.