Tatum's teammates stepped up and helped the Celtics finish the third on a 19-5 run going into the last quarter.
After losing the first game of the series to the 76ers and forfeiting home-court advantage, the Celtics left the court angry and frustrated. Boston used those feelings, along with their defence, to win Game 2. The 76ers had the services of their power forward, Joel Embiid in Game 2. However, his return was marked by a bitter gift as the Celtics thrashed Philadelphia 121-87. I think we’ve just got to take more pride in ourselves. That’s it,” Brown said. “I just feel like we underperformed last game. We wanted to come out and play to the best of our ability. And that’s what we did.”
Adding 23 points and making six of Boston’s 20 three-point attempts Malcolm Brogdon. Marcus Smart and Derrick White both contributed 15 points. Jayson Tatum was limited to seven points and fouled out for the majority of the contest. Boston tightened up their defence and held the 76ers, who made 17 three-pointers in their victory in Game 1, to just 6 of 30 attempts on Wednesday. In the fourth quarter, the Celtics led by as many as 36 points. Brogdon said their charge now is to maintain the same mindset going forward.
“It doesn’t mean anything if there’s no carryover,” he said. With 16 points, Tobias Harris led the 76ers. In his first game back after missing the final game of the 76ers’ first-round sweep of Brooklyn due to a sprained right knee, Embiid finished with 15 points, three rebounds, and five blocks. Furthermore, he missed Monday’s Game 1 victory for Philadelphia. The 45 points that James Harden scored in Game 1 of the series tied his postseason career high. Going into Game 2 he missed all six of his three-point attempts and shot just 2 for 14 overall. He only scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. A day after receiving the MVP award for the first time, Embiid made his comeback.
After a pre-game on-court workout, medical professionals and training personnel gave him the all-clear to play. After doing some minor work during the 76ers’ morning shoot-around, he did that. Even though there was some rust, Embiid claimed he was told it might take four to six weeks for his injury to heal. However, the chance to take a 2-0 lead ultimately motivated him to play. Tatum committed three fouls in the opening frame. At the 7:34 mark of the third quarter, when he was attempting to fight through a screen and knocked Harden to the ground, he was assessed his fourth foul. With just over four minutes remaining in the third quarter, Boston’s lead of 18 points was down to 73-60.
However, Tatum’s teammates stepped up and helped the Celtics finish the third on a 19-5 run, bringing the score back up to 92-65 heading into the fourth. Although Embiid struggled offensively at first, he had an almost immediate impact on the defence as the 76ers struggled to make shots from outside. Embiid scored the evening’s first field goal. In the last 21.4 seconds, Embiid made a jumper over Grant Williams, before tripping as he reversed back down the court. He quickly got up to stand. He scored 13 points in the first half, making 7 of 8 free throw attempts.
Brown stated that they anticipate facing a 76ers team that is motivated after suffering their first postseason loss when they arrive in Philadelphia. As the Eastern Conference semi-final series moves to Philadelphia for Game 3 on Friday, the Celtics tied the series at one game apiece.
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