The No. 2 Boston Celtics came back from a 17-point deficit to take Game 2 against the No. 7 Brooklyn Nets, 114-107, Wednesday night at TD Garden.
The Celtics went up 2-0 over the Nets in the best-of-seven series.
You can check out the full box score here.
ONE KEY TAKEAWAY
The Celtics’ star duo, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, struggled in the first half, scoring only five points combined in the first quarter. Kyrie Irving also went off to a slow start, but it was the role players who helped give the Nets control of the game. Bruce Brown scored the game’s first nine points and totaled 12 points in the first quarter.
Goran Dragic came off the bench and continued the Nets’ scoring effort. Bruce Brown and Dragic combined for 30 points in the first half. The Nets went up 10 to close out the first half, leading by as much as 17, but a strong third quarter, led by a 15-5 Celtics run, helped put the C’s within five after the third quarter.
The Celtics did not have a lead in the game until Payton Pritchard broke the deadlock with a long jumper in the fourth quarter. The Celtics did not give up that lead as Jaylen Brown carried the team to a 16-4 run. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving tried to take back the lead, but the Nets duo was held down by the No. 1 defense in the NBA.
Irving had a disappointing run out scoring only 10 points in front of the Celtics faithful. Tatum and Smart hit clutch shots in the fourth quarter to seal the game for the Celtics.
STARS OF THE GAME
— While Tatum hit some big shots in the fourth quarter, it was Jaylen Brown who led the comeback effort. The Celtics guard scored 22 points in the game and helped shut down Durant in the fourth quarter. That work on defense resulted in three steals for him.
— Grant Williams stepped up huge off the bench as the starters were struggling to get a bucket. The third-year big man scored 13 points in the first half to keep the game within reach for the Celtics, and he kept up the intensity on the defensive end as well. Williams finished the game with a playoff career-high 17 points.
— Kevin Durant led the game in scoring with 27 points. The majority of his points came from the free-throw line as Durant shot 18-20 from the charity strike. Durant added in four rebounds and five assists.
WAGER WATCH
Tatum scored 19 points and dished out 10 assists on Wednesday night earning him a double-double. A $100 bet on Tatum getting a double-double (+195) would have paid out $295 at DraftKings Sportsbook.
UP NEXT
The series will now move to Brooklyn at the Barclays Center. Game 3 is set for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN.
