Tyrese Haliburton of the Pacers, who also plays guard, complimented Jrue Holiday of the Celtics following their back-and-forth play in Boston’s 133–128 victory against Indiana in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

”He’s the best defender in the NBA and has been for a long time. … I’ll learn from it, and I’ll be better in Game 2,” Haliburton said after the game.

With 1:02 left in overtime and Indiana down 124-123, Holiday forced Haliburton into a crucial mistake. The Celtics’ next possession ended with a three-pointer from Jayson Tatum, and the Pacers never again possessed the ball while within one possession.

On Tuesday, Holiday played one of his best two-way games of his career and easily had the best game of his rookie campaign with the Celtics. Late in the game, he increased his defensive pressure on Haliburton and finished with 28 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, and three steals.

The head coach of the Celtics, Joe Mazzulla, told reporters, “Jrue is that kind of guy, and credit him for making the (NBA) All-Defensive (second) team.” Every night, he has the ability to have a different impact on a game; tonight, it was his playmaking, scoring, defense, and overall performance.

“I thought his poise and his demeanor through out the game was instrumental for us.”

In his first season in Boston, Holiday has mostly abandoned his offensive game and saw a sharp decline in usage while playing with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis. Nevertheless, he finished the regular season with a career-high 42.9 percent of his threes made, and he is still among the NBA’s most reliable defenders.

It’s difficult to imagine these Celtics losing a title if Holiday continues to shoot the way he has been lately and Porzingis returns to the starting lineup as soon as possible.