BOSTON, MASS. – The Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics met for game two of their opening round playoff series in Boston.
In game one, Boston won in dominant fashion with a 123-91 victory over Philadelphia. Game two would be completely different from the first game, from start to finish.
The Celtics got the scoring started with a Jayson Tatum three-pointer. Philadelphia’s Paul George then scored on back-to-back plays in the mid-range. A few plays later, Boston’s Jaylen Brown threw down a vicious poster on Adem Bona as he fell. Brown was called for a technical, which was questionable. With three minutes left in the first quarter, Nikola Vucevic made a three to make it a 13-point lead for Boston. Philly would trim the deficit to three as Boston led 28-25 after the first. Tyrese Maxey had 10 points in the first quarter.
An Andre Drummond layup would give Philadelphia its first lead since 13-10 early in the first. V.J. Edgecombe skied up high for a big-time slam with almost two minutes left in the half. Philadelphia went into halftime leading 62-54. Edgecombe had 16 points in the second quarter.
George hit a top-of-the-key three to make it an 11-point lead for the 76ers. Kelly Oubre Jr. would have back-to-back buckets of bully ball in the paint. Brown would have 13 points for the Celtics in the quarter, but Philly finished the quarter up 84-77.
Midway through the final period, Brown had a nice between-the-legs handle pull-up over George to put the TD Garden crowd in a frenzy. Maxey would score back-to-back threes to force a Celtics timeout. Edgecombe made a three-pointer over Payton Pritchard and then winked at the camera. On the next possession, Maxey hit a tough reverse layup and one as Tatum fouled him. Maxey, with a shot clock winding down, hit a snatchback three over Max Shulga that almost made him fall. Philadelphia claimed the 111-97 victory.
Edgecombe made history as the youngest player to score 30-plus points and 10 rebounds in a playoff game. Edgecombe had 30 points, and Maxey had 29. For the Celtics, Brown led the way with 36 points. Tatum had a near triple-double with 19 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists on not the best shooting percentage.
The series will now head to Philadelphia, tied 1-1. Game three is scheduled for this Friday, April 24, at 7:00 pm.
