Tuesday’s Game 2 loss at TD Garden was the opposite of what Boston Celtics fans had in mind heading into the evening. Vibes were high with the team riding a franchise-record 32-point victory as they took the parquet.
For a while, it seemed like it was going to be more of the same. Jaylen Brown threw down a monster dunk, the Celtics moved the ball well, Nikola Vucevic even drilled a three off of a pass fake. Boston led 26-13 when Philly called their first timeout.
Then it got worse.
“In the second quarter we gave up 37 points,” Jayson Tatum said postgame. “So doing that in the playoff game is tough. It's not a recipe for a win. You got to give them credit. They played better, obviously, and that was to be expected. You know, some live ball turnovers, offensive rebounds that we gave and then obviously, you know, you're not hitting shots. It just puts more pressure on your defense.”
A combination of hot shooting for Philly, cold shooting for Boston, and plenty in between made for a less-than ideal result for the home crowd -- which, by the way, doesn’t often see wins in Game 2s.
“They outcompeted us tonight,” Jaylen Brown said of the 76ers. “I think our intensity level could have been better. Defensively, we could have been better… We’ve just got to be better. It’s the playoffs. They’ve got ball players over there.”
Tuesday was just the ninth time in the last 25 games that the Celtics allowed an opponent to crack 110 points. Watching the types of shots the 76ers got wasn’t all that different of an experience compared to Game 1 -- they just went in more.
It can be easy to point at shooting variance as the reason for such a drastic shift between matchups. Regardless, Brown and the Celtics are looking forward to making the adjustments necessary to regain control of this series in Friday’s Game 3.
“Obviously, it wasn't the best showing for us defensively,” Brown added. “But we’ll watch the film and see where the adjustments need to be made. We’ll come back and we’ll play like how we're supposed to play the next game. So I'm looking forward to it, looking forward to the film session, and this is where we’re still growing and learning as a team. So these opportunities -- you can look at it as a negative, or you can look at it as a positive. So we'll learn from it, and then we'll get back to Celtic basketball.”
There's no sense of panic in the halls of TD Garden
None of the postgame press conferences felt like those of a team that’d just opened the door for a potential first-round upset. No one was outwardly upset. There wasn’t a tension in the room -- moreso a calmness.
Tatum and Brown, who combined for 55 points in this game (no one else scored more than 10), have played the first and second most playoff minutes since 2017. They, and many of their teammates have been here before.
As much as it sucks that losing Game 2s is a trend for this core, it’s prepared them all the same to handle the situation. It’s not all on them, though. It’s on Neemias Queta. It’s on Nikola Vucevic. It’ll party fall onto the shoulders of Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh, and Luka Garza at some point, too.
Whenever it does, the trust is still there. It's been there all season, as the Cs have shocked just about everyone who doubted them last summer. Every single guy who's put on the uniform has had a moment of some sort.
“I trust our group,” Brown emphasized. “We've grown a lot over the course [of the season]. Obviously this is the ultimate test, playing in the playoffs, and we got players who have gotten better and developed, and we're relying on them. I trust them to come out, make those plays and contribute to the game. We just got to continue to have the right mentality, have each other's back, just breathe.”
This is the first hiccup of what will hopefully be a lengthy playoff journey for the Celtics. If it ends up being long, it almost certainly be the last.
“So over the course, it'll be a journey. It's gonna be some ups and some downs, but I'm looking forward to it for my guys.”
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