After losing Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA playoffs at home to the Philadelphia 76ers, the Boston Celtics have been feeling angry and pissed for the past 48 hours, according to coach Joe Mazzulla. Jaylen Brown set the tone for the Celtics from the very first seconds of Game 2 on Wednesday night.
Brown knocked down a 3-pointer on Boston’s first offensive possession of the game, answering an opening bucket from Tobias Harris, and then proceeded to pick up James Harden from the moment the Sixers inbounded the ball to defend him full-court.
It all led to a dominant effort from the Celtics, who responded with 121-87 over the Sixers in Game 2. Boston’s 34-point win tied for the third-largest margin of victory in a playoff game in franchise history handed the Sixers their first loss of this postseason and evened the series 1-1. Game 3 is Friday night in Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, the Celtics kept up the intensity on the defensive end all night. They held Harden to 12 points following his 45-point outburst in Game 1 and kept a returning and newly crowned NBA MVP Joel Embiid to only 15 points.
