Celtics Take Care of Business in Game Two Behind Jaylen Brown’s Masterful Performance

The Boston Celtics break the Game Two curse in their dominating performance tonight. After the All-NBA teams came out, Jaylen Brown took it personally after not being selected. He tied his playoff career high with 40 points. This is the best two-game stretch of basketball that Brown has played. If Boston can pay as close attention to detail as they did tonight in every other game this series, it won’t matter how Indiana plays. 

Indiana’s plan of attack did not change from Game One, isolate Al Horford and attack him. It didn’t matter who he was defending, the Pacers always had the advantage. Combining with their hot shooting from deep, the Pacers were very tough to stop offensively. Meanwhile, Jaylen Brown is playing his best two-game stretch of basketball in his career. After a 26-point, seven rebounds, and five assists performance in Game One, Brown was on track to match those stats after one quarter. He was playing with the utmost confidence, even after being accidentally kicked in the head and elbowed in the groin. 

With Myles Turner picking up his second foul, early in the first quarter, the Pacers were missing his outside shooting. Leave it to T.J. McConnell to step up and fill in the gaps. McConnell is a constant pest that you can’t ever leave your eyes off of. He is always playing terrific defense and insists on making the right play on offense. Jrue Holiday was there to answer for the Celtics. Following his excellent Game One performance, Holiday was filling up the score sheet. At the end of a very competitive opening quarter, the Pacers came away with a two-point lead 27-25.

To open the second quarter, the Celtics were on the break with Derrick White leading the charge and he found Big Al running to the basket. Horford would then miss two layup attempts but managed to gain the offensive rebound two times and then Jaylen Brown found his way cutting to the basket for the easy bucket. This was already their ninth offensive rebound of the game, a real difference-maker in the early going. This was in the midst of a 17-0 run, which really infuriated Rick Carlisle. The Pacers did not score their first point of the second quarter until Aaron Nesmith sinked a couple of free throws at the 6:45 mark. This started an 8-0 run of their own to cut down the deficit. 

We learned from Cassidy Hubbarth, ESPN sideline reporter, that Luke Kornet would be questionable to return with a sprained wrist. Already missing Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics can’t afford any more injuries to the front court. With less than two minutes to go, the Celtics’ number one rated defense in the NBA was really starting to wear on the Pacers. Already in double-digit turnovers, the Pacers could not stop Jaylen Brown from converting in transition or in the half-court game. He was only three points away from surpassing his Game One point total, scoring 24 first-half points. Pascal Siakam was coming alive down the stretch, especially in the mid-range game, to keep the Pacers in it. At the break, the Celtics held a 57-51 lead. If you're the Pacers, you gotta be happy and relieved that you're only down six points and that Jayson Tatum only had four first-half points.  

Jaylen Brown and Pascal Siakam were putting on a show for their respective teams. With Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton taking a back seat offensively, Brown and Siakam were stepping up big time. That’s what is so great about these two teams, any player on any given night can win you a ball game. Tatum finally got an increase in mojo after a review of Nesmith pulling down on his shoulder during a rebounding attempt. The next possession, Tatum aggressively dove to the hoop and dunked it home over the top of Myles Turner. An aggressive Jayson Tatum is a very dangerous player to play against. 

With Kornet ruled out of the game, Oshae Brissett checked into the game after not playing in Game One. His length and athleticism are a huge added value off the bench. His traits fit right in with the Celtics roster which continued to play harassing defense. Talking about adding value off the bench, Payton Pritchard got himself into double digits by swishing a wide-open corner three, which according to JJ Redick is the easiest three-point shot in basketball. Down the stretch, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were back to playing like the best duo in the NBA. Their efforts along with others led to extending their halftime lead to 93-80 at the end of quarter three.

Indiana’s bench was not playing as well as they have been. Their points off the bench has been a huge compliment to their offense, but it was not there tonight. At the beginning of the fourth, Haliburton made his way back to the locker room and did not return to the game with a left leg injury. Derrick White, already playing exceptional basketball, took advantage of his defensive matchup by hitting his fourth three-pointer of the game. His performance might be out shadowed by Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday, but all of his minutes were of immeasurable importance. 

With only six and a half minutes to play, Sam Hauser and Isaiah Jackson were assessed technical fouls. Leave it to Scott Foster to assess meaningless technical fouls. With Siakam on the bench and Haliburton hurt, the Pacers struggled to score against the tough Celtic defense the rest of the game. In the end, the Celtics took a 2-0 series lead with their 126-110 victory over the Pacers. A dominant second half and a masterpiece of Jaylen Brown was the real difference maker in Game Two. Game Three will be in Indiana on Saturday, May 25th at 8:30 EST.