NBA Playoffs: 3 players that led Celtics to win Game 2 over 76ers

The Boston Celtics bounced back hugely in Game 2 against the 76ers after dropping the opener with a blowout victory. These three stars led the way.

The Boston Celtics were able to bounce back in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the 76ers and make this series 1-1 going into Philadelphia. Wednesday night’s game turned into a blowout in the third quarter and stayed that way until the final buzzer.

When the clock read all-zeroes, the Celtics had secured the emphatic 121-87 win.

The Sixers offense looked very confused with Joel Embild back in the lineup and Harden was clearly struggling with injury after taking a hit to the head.

But the Celtics were able to triumph in blowout fashion even with Jayson Tatum having a poor night overall. Boston’s role players were able to make up the difference. These three players stepped up most noticeably to lead the Celtics to victory in order to tie up the series.

Celtics: 3 players that led Boston to Game 2 win over 76ers in NBA Playoffs

3. Marcus Smart

I was very tempted to put Derrick White here or even Grant Williams but Marcus Smart really played well in this game. The veteran was able to put up 15 points on 50 percent shooting from the floor. Specifically, Smart seemed to be able to make tough shots in the mid-range zone.

In the first half, the Celtics were struggling a bit with getting buckets outside of Tatum. Smart was able to step up and pick up the slack for his team. Boston was lacking offense at times in the first half and Smart supplied it

2. Malcolm Brogdon

Coming off a good performance in Game 1, Brogdon was once again able to put up points. The Sixers left Brogdon open for 3 often and he took advantage. The Sixth Man of the Year shot 60 percent from long-range in this game, knocking down six 3s in total for Boston.

After Jaylen Brown started going off, the Sixers’ defense shifted to making sure he wouldn’t singlehandedly beat them. Brogdon was able to make sure the Celtics’ extreme flow of points kept coming with his offense that Brown could play off of.

1. Jaylen Brown

Jaylen Brown had an amazing game throughout the night. From the start, Brown was getting buckets. He really seemed to be destroying the Sixers off the dribble and getting to the cup.

He ended the night 25 points on 52 percent shooting from the floor. He made three 3s as he was able to hit comfortably from that distance as well. His co-star, Tatum, all but forced him to step up as Tatum shot just 14 percent from the floor on the night.  As Tatum was struggling offensively and got into foul trouble, Brown had to be the clear superstar in this game and he was to lead Boston to the easy win.

Even still, Philly won one on the road and the Celtics will need to match that with a road win of their own in the next two games.