Jaylen Brown’s game-tying 3-pointer on Tuesday night was worthy of a double “bang” from Mike Breen.
The ESPN play-by-play man made a signature call during a key moment in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Celtics and Pacers at TD Garden.
With just seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Celtics inbounded the ball to Brown in the corner, who made a 3-pointer to tie the game at 117-117.
“Throw-in in the corner. Brown fakes and goes for a 3-pointer. Bang! Bang! Jaylen Brown makes a 3-pointer and ties the game. Indiana, timeout,” Breen said on the call.
ESPN’s cameras focused on actor Donnie Wahlberg, who was enthusiastically celebrating the game-tying shot courtside.
The broadcast also showed Red Sox legend David Ortiz celebrating in the stands at TD Garden after the big shot.
The Celtics defeated the Pacers 133-128 in Game 1 of the series to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Jayson Tatum finished the night with 36 points, including 10 in overtime, helping the Celtics win.
Brown scored 26 points in the first game.
Breen’s memorable phone call came on the same night he won the Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Person/Play by Play for the third consecutive year.
He beat out Joe Buck, Ian Eagle, Kevin Harlan, Mike Tirico, and another Red Sox great, Pedro Martinez, who accepted the award on Breen’s behalf.
The Celtics and Pacers were the only teams playing on Tuesday, so the game drew attention from the basketball world, including LeBron James.
James appeared to take aim at the Pacers over their defensive decision-making in the tied Game 3.
“And you still want to know why I get 3 fouls up every time??” He wrote to X.
He ended the post with three slap-in-the-face emojis.
