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Key Moment
Boston looked dead in the water midway through the second quarter of Game 2.
Dead. In. The. Water.
Then something changed – in a monumental way – and all of a sudden, the Celtics came to life.
No one knows where it came from, but whatever it was, it stunned the visiting Philadelphia Sixers.
The Celtics, who trailed by 22 points with 6:41 left in the first half, pushed aside all of their sluggish play and reverted to the type of team that everyone watched during Game 1. They became dominant again.
Marcus Smart canned a 3-pointer with 6:20 left in the half and that basket ignited one of the most historic comebacks in not only Celtics playoff history, but in NBA history. By the time the half came to an end, the Celtics had clawed to within five points, at 56-51.
And it was almost two points.
Smart missed a full-court heave at the buzzer and the shot was on the mark from a distance standpoint. However, it just so happened to fall inches to the left of the rim as the halftime buzzer sounded.
The final tally of the incredible run to the half was 25-8. Boston made up 17 points during the final six-plus minutes, and as the contest went into halftime, we had a game again.
And we had a crowd in a frenzy inside TD Garden.
Five Celtics accounted for the scoring during the run. Terry Rozier led them all with eight points, while Jaylen Brown scored six, Marcus Smart scored five, Greg Monroe scored four, and Al Horford scored two.
This game wasn’t a sure-win for Boston heading into halftime, but the tide of momentum it built felt more like a tsunami. It rode that wave all the way to the finish line to take a 2-0 series lead with a 108-103 victory.
Key Player
Scary Terry just keeps on rolling. One game after he led the Celtics with 29 points during Game 1, he threatened to log a triple-double during Game 2. Rozier finished Thursday night’s contest with 20 points, a game-high nine assists and seven rebounds.
The craziest stat of all? While playing point guard for 38-plus minutes, Rozier did not commit a single turnover.
Wow.
En route to his 20 points, the point guard shot 6-for-15 from the field and made four of his nine 3-pointers. His four 3s trailed only J.J. Redick’s five in the game.
Rozier has been nothing short of stellar during this postseason run. He was nothing short of stellar Thursday night.
Box Score Nuggets
- Philadelphia had three players score at least 20 points yet still lost.
- Jayson Tatum led Boston with 21 points.
- Al Horford logged a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. He also dished out five assists.
- J.J. Redick scored a game-high 23 points.
- The 76ers led by as many as 22 points.
- Horford's plus-21 was the best plus/minus rating in the game.
- The two teams combined to commit only 20 turnovers (nine by Boston, 11 by Philly).
- Philadelphia dished out 30 assists compared to Boston's 23.
- The Celtics made 15 3-pointers, including four apiece from Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier.
- Rozier led the game with nine assists.
- Boston outscored Philadelphia 19-13 in fast break points.
- The Celtics made five more free throws (19) than Philadelphia attempted (15).
Quote of the Night
Brad Stevens on Marcus Smart's impact on Game 2.