Despite a myriad of flaws, the Boston Celtics managed to come away from game-two with a victory over the Toronto Raptors.
Coming into Tuesday’s game, momentum seemed to be on the side of the Boston Celtics, as they were fresh off a dominating performance from game-one against the Toronto Raptors and, as a whole, had not lost a single game during this year’s postseason.
Now, as of Wednesday morning, the Cs find themselves still boasting an undefeated playoff record of 6-0 and, in turn, have a 2-0 series advantage over the defending world champions.
It was the Jayson Tatum show Tuesday, as the first-time All-Star led all scorers with 34 points to go along with eight rebounds, six assists, and a 57 percent 3-point percentage.
Dazzling with his shooting stroke, acrobatic finishes at the rim, and impressive court vision, the proverbial game ball certainly should be bestowed to the C’s 22-year-old wing.
Next up in the power-rankings from game-two was Marcus Smart, who was simply astonishing to watch on both ends of the court, specifically during the fourth-quarter (converted on five straight 3-pointers. On the night, Smart finished with 19 points, three rebounds, and two blocks on 46 percent shooting from the field and 55 percent shooting from deep.
Had it not been for his crunch-time offensive magic, this game easily could have gone in favor of Toronto, as they saw themselves up eight points heading into the final quarter.
Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker combined for 33 points (16 & 17, respectively) while Robert Williams had another fantastic performance — albeit, cut short due to an awkward fall on his back —, recording 11 points, four rebounds, and a block on 100% shooting in just 18 minutes.
Thought Walker found himself struggling early — going 0-8 shooting in the first half —, he managed to come on late, scoring 16 points in the second half and hit the game-sealing step-back jumper on Serge Ibaka around the final minute of regulation.
Turnovers still proved to be a problem for the Boston Celtics, as they committed 17 in comparison to Toronto’s 12. Luckily like last game, however, they managed to find a way to come away with a victory, though by too close of a margin.
This certainly needs to be addressed and, frankly, improved upon heading into game-three, for the luck likely will not last long enough for them to accumulate a 3-0 lead.
Defensively, the shamrocks held things down quite nicely, as they kept the Raptors to 40 percent shooting from the floor and only 27 percent shooting from deep.
Game-three will be played on Thursday, with tip-off coming at 6:30 PM (ET).
As always, go Celtics!