On a night when one Celtics franchise cornerstone was uncharacteristically off, the other led by example from the get-go.
Jaylen Brown looked like a man on the mission from jump street in Game 2 of Boston's Eastern Conference semifinal series with Philadelphia. Wednesday night's contest started with Brown assuming defensive duties on James Harden, who torched the Celtics with 45 points Monday night. Shortly thereafter, Brown got the Celtics' offense going with a 3-pointer at TD Garden.
Brown's early-game contributions ultimately were easy to overlook, as the Celtics went on to notch a 34-point win over the 76ers. But the All-Star wing's efforts didn't go unnoticed by Marcus Smart, who made sure to salute his teammate after Boston evened the best-of-seven series.
"We gotta tip our hats to JB," Smart told reporters, per MassLive. "He started the whole momentum for us. He came out right away and he set the tone and we just had to follow his lead. When you got one of your best players setting the tone like that, it's hard not to follow."
Brown's superstar running mate, Jayson Tatum, finished with only three more points (seven) than fouls (four) across 19:20 of playing time. Although the Celtics obviously will need more from Tatum on a nightly basis, the way Wednesday's game played out surely must have been a confidence booster for Boston after an ugly Game 1.
The Celtics will try to take their first lead in the series Friday night. Tipoff for Game 3 in Philadelphia is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
