Boston Celtics Lay a Beatdown on Philadelphia 76ers in Game 2

The Philadelphia 76ers are down in a 2-0 hole after losing to the Boston Celtics, 128-101, on Wednesday in a game that turned into a lifeless rout.

At first, the Sixers got off to a hot start. Joel Embiid, who acknowledged he needed to do more in Game 2 following the Game 1 loss, looked like a man on a mission as he accounted for 15 points in his first ten minutes of the game. The big man's performance inspired his supporting cast to follow suit, and the Sixers looked sharp as they knocked down just over 60 percent of their field goals in the opening quarter.

But the Sixers' hot start eventually cooled down. In the second quarter, a Jayson Tatum-led Boston Celtics outscored the 76ers 38-24, allowing them to head into halftime with a comfortable 65-57 lead. Philly showed some fight towards the end of the half, but they didn't come out firing in the third quarter by any stretch. Once again, Boston dominated Philly, outscoring them 33-18 to put the game out of reach heading into the fourth quarter.

While the Celtics had a solid collective team effort in the second half, the Sixers continued to struggle to get any player other than Embiid going. Unlike the Game 1 matchup, the Sixers had no fight left in them by the time the fourth quarter rolled around. And as Philly looked for an ounce of hope in the final period, the Celtics kept their foot on the gas and continued to lay a beatdown that will be tough to recover from as Brett Brown potentially coaches for his job.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_