The Boston Celtics hit 20 three-pointers on Wednesday night, and outscored the Philadelphia 76ers 64-38 in the second half to blow open a close game to even up their best of seven NBA Eastern Conference Semifinal Playoff series 1-1 with a 121-87 win at TD Garden.
The game saw the return of the leagues MVP in Philadelphia center Joel Embiid, who missed the last two playoff games with a knee strain. It was a back and forth first quarter with both teams holding a lead. The 76ers held a few two point leads their only leads of the night early, but it was Boston leading by six at 28-22 after 12 minutes on a fadeaway jumper by Marcus Smart in the final seconds. The Celtics never would trail again, as they went up as many as 12 in the second and led 57-49 at the halftime break. The third quarter was the key to the game. With Philadelphia still hanging around down 13 with 4:23 left in the period, Boston scored 13 consecutive points unanswered and ended the 12 minutes on a run of 19-5 to take a commanding 92-65 advantage to the fourth. The C’s hit five 3-pointers during that key stretch. The lead would go to as many as 34 in the final moments, which ended up being the final margin of victory.
Tobias Harris led four players in double figures in the Philadelphia loss with 16 points. Embiid had 15 points, Tyrese Maxey 13, and James Harden only 12 after his 45 point game one. The 76ers shot 6-30 from the three-point arc. Embiid played 26 minutes and was ineffective on the glass with only three rebounds. Jaylen Brown had 25 points, three rebounds, four assists, and two steals to lead Boston. Malcolm Brogdon had 23 points off the bench (6-10 three-pointers) and also added six rebounds and two assists. Marcus Smart and Derrick White contributed 15 points a piece, and Grant Williams chipped in 12. The Celtics shot 20-51 (39%) from three-point territory, a plus 42 on the scoreboard. Jayson Tatum scored his lowest total of points since November of 2021 (eight points) finishing with seven points, seven rebounds, and three assists on 1-7 shooting from the field. They also only turned the ball over six times (16 in game one), which tied them for the third fewest in franchise history and the fewest in any postseason game since 2018. The series now moves to Philadelphia for games three and four, starting Friday night with game three tipping off at 7:30 p.m. Boston becomes the 15th straight home team in a seven game NBA Playoff series to win game two after a game one loss.
Story by Chris Lessner/Highlight video courtesy of the NBA website
