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What Stood Out from the Celtics' Win vs. Nets in Game 2: Boston Recaptures Offensive Identity, Rallies for 2-0 Series Lead
It was a tale of two halves for the Celtics on Wednesday. After a lack of ball movement and not challenging the Nets' defense made it difficult for them to find their rhythm offensively, they got back to what led to them earning the highest offensive rating in the NBA after the All-Star break.
Boston also kept Kyrie Irving in check, limiting him to ten points after he erupted for 39 in Game 1. And while Kevin Durant followed up a 23-point performance by putting 27 on the board, it came on 4/17 shooting as the Celtics continued to make him battle for everything he got.
Now, for a deep dive into what stood out from Wednesday's win that has Boston halfway towards the second round of the playoffs.
Celtics Struggle to Find Their Rhythm Offensively in First Quarter
The Nets jumped out to a 9-0 lead thanks to Bruce Brown, who drained a three from the left corner for the game's first points, then converted on a pair of free throws and scored four points in the paint.
At the other end, turnovers played a role in the Celtics' offense having trouble igniting, committing two within the first 2:30. But Boston's defense then pressured Brooklyn into coughing the ball up on consecutive possessions, followed by Al Horford blocking a Kevin Durant pull-up jumper. Those three stops helped the Celtics close the gap.
Halfway through the frame, the home team was 3/9 from the field and struggling to stop Bruce Brown, who had already registered 12 points, but they only trailed 16-8, largely thanks to four turnovers from the Nets and containing Durant and Kyrie Irving, who combined for just six points on five shots.
Speaking of Irving, with less than 3:30 to play in the frame, he subbed out and went to the locker room. Turner's Stephanie Ready reported Irving's brief trip to the back was related to his observance of Ramadan.
As for the pace of play, after the two teams combined for 18 fouls, the most in the opening frame of any quarter this season, in Game 1, they committed 13 in the first nine minutes of Game 2. They finished the quarter with a cumulative total of 16 in a period that lasted about 45 minutes.
When it came to a close, the Celtics had trimmed the deficit to single digits, trailing 33-24. Grant Williams capped the quarter with a corner three, followed by one from above the break, then blocked Bruce Brown's shot at the buzzer.
Nets' Supporting Cast Continues to Make Their Presence Felt in Second Quarter
Williams opened the second frame with a three from the left-wing, scoring Boston's last 11 points. But with the Celtics not doing much to challenge the Nets' defense or put them in rotation, Brooklyn converted a string of stops into points, rattling off a 10-2 run to build a 45-31 lead with 7:30 minutes to play in the period.
But Boston received a needed infusion of energy from newly minted Defensive Player of the Year, Marcus Smart, who went on a 6-0 run in 40 seconds, including drilling a corner three and breaking to the cup for a layup after an errant pass from Bruce Brown went out of bounds. That got the Celtics to within eight, bringing the score to 45-37.
Late in the period, Goran Dragic drilled back-to-back pull-up jumpers, giving him 15 points in a productive first half for the Nets' late-season pickup. Those baskets helped Brooklyn grow its lead to 57-42 with 2:49 remaining.
With 1:13 left, Tatum got a layup for his first field goal of the quarter, and he followed it up with a three from the left wing, a 5-0 run that cut the deficit to 62-53 with 49 seconds on the clock.
The Nets went into the break with a ten-point lead, 65-55. Dragic had a game-high 16 points, and he combined with Bruce Brown (14 points) to score 30. As for Brooklyn's big two, Durant had 15 points, and Irving had eight.
Turnovers plagued both teams in the first two quarters. Boston committed nine, and the Nets gave the ball away eight times. But the Celtics' lack of ball movement and drives into the paint often led to them settling for one mediocre shot, which also gave Brooklyn more opportunities against a defense trying to get set in transition. Frankly, one could view Boston only trailing by ten at the break as a small victory.
Celtics Fight Their Way Back into the Game in the Third Frame
Coming out of the half, the Celtics made a concerted effort to force the issue and keep the ball moving.
That propelled a 10-2 run, including a Horford three and Jaylen Brown stripping Kevin Durant and taking it coast-to-coast for a layup and a foul on Irving. Brown then made the ensuing free throw to trim the gap to five.
Boston could have cut further into the deficit, but in an unfortunate sequence for the home team, Marcus Smart missed a corner three; at the other end, the Celtics couldn't come up with a loose ball, leading to an open three for Seth Curry. That gave Brooklyn a 70-60 advantage.
But a couple of minutes later, Jaylen Brown picked off a pass from Durant, leading to a Tatum dunk at the other end.
And with Boston continuing to attack the paint, the lead continued shrinking. That approach eventually tied the game at 79 as Smart got into the teeth of the defense and found Daniel Theis for a 12-foot jumper with 3:13 left in the frame.
In a critical sequence late in the quarter, the Celtics forced Dragic to take a 27-foot three as the shot clock expired but failed to corral the rebound. Instead, Bruce Brown, who they didn't box out, secured it and swung the ball to Patty Mills for a three as part of a 7-0 run by the Nets that gave them an 88-81 lead with 1:18 remaining.
But Brown answered for Boston, attacking Bruce Brown off the dribble and eventually getting to the cup for a layup that had the Celtics down five, 90-85, entering the fourth quarter.
Also, it's worth noting that through three, Grant Williams scored a team-high 17 points on 4/4 shooting, including going 3/3 from beyond the arc and 6/6 at the free-throw line.
Celtics At Their Best in the Final Frame
At the 9:02 mark, a pick-and-roll between Payton Pritchard and Tatum at the top of the key led to Tatum catching the ball as he rolled into the paint and swinging it to Brown for a three from the right wing, sparking an 11-0 Boston run.
Within that were a pair of Brooklyn turnovers, multiple layups by Brown, and a three from Pritchard.
And when Brown drilled a shot from 27-feet out, it gave the Celtics a 99-94 advantage with 6:04 left, sending the TD Garden crowd into a frenzy.
After a pair of free throws by Tatum, followed by Durant missing a jumper, Tatum got into the paint for a clean look he converted on as the shot clock expired. That grew Boston's lead to 105-96 with 2:48 remaining.
On the ensuing Nets' possession, Horford fouled out, bringing Theis back into the game. Durant then attempted a 27-foot pull-up that he missed, and Tatum splashed a shot 26-feet from beyond the arc, giving the home team a 108-96 advantage with 2:07 on the clock.
Durant then earned two-straight trips to the line, capitalizing on each of the four free throws to make it a 108-100 game with 1:34 left. But after that, as the shot clock expired, Smart banked in a bucket that put Boston up by ten with 1:09 to play.
The Nets tried to press, but the Celtics shredded it, getting an uncontested layup from Pritchard to go up 112-102 with 56.4 seconds remaining. Brooklyn countered with a corner three from Brown, but didn't apply much pressure or foul to stop the clock, surrendering another layup to Pritchard, this one over Durant.
As a result of getting back to their style of play, on both ends, but especially offensively, the Celtics outscored the Nets 59-42 in the second half, propelling them to a 2-0 series lead.
Brown finished with a team-high 22 points to go with six assists, four rebounds, and two steals. Tatum scored 19, and despite that coming on 5/16 shooting, he generated seven points at the line, and dished out a game-high ten assists. He also grabbed six boards.
And even though Durant scored 27 points, he went 4/17 from the field, and just 1/2 from beyond the arc. He also committed six turnovers, more than anyone else on either team. Boston continued to do a great job of making him uncomfortable and have to work for everything he got.
The Celtics also had far more success defending Irving. After scoring 39 points in Game 1, he produced ten on four of 13 shooting in Wednesday's matchup. It also felt as if, in an effort to get Durant going, the offense often worked away from Irving.
While the Nets should expect more from their top-two players, the Celtics' ability to find their rhythm offensively in the second half will give them more confidence moving forward.
Up Next
Game 3 between the Celtics and Nets is Saturday night. Tip-off is at 7:30 ET. Inside The Celtics will have content related to the game coming out before, during, and after. And follow @BobbyKrivitsky on Twitter for updates and analysis from pregame to post.
Further Reading
Marcus Smart Becomes First Guard Since Gary Payton in 1996 to Win NBA Defensive Player of the Year
What Stood Out in Celtics' Win vs. Nets in Series Opener
While the Nets Anticipate Ben Simmons Playing in Round 1, Will Robert Williams Do the Same?
