For the primary six minutes on Tuesday evening, the Celtics had been at their worst.
They had been lazy on offense. Jaylen Brown dedicated three turnovers within the opening minutes. Their protection – which was so good in Game 1 – was an open door. The Celtics had been anticipating a powerful Hawks response and so they acquired it.
But when Joe Mazzulla turned to his bench, all the pieces modified. The deepest crew within the NBA confirmed itself once more, even when Mazzulla has solely gone eight deep to start out the playoffs. Robert Williams, then Malcolm Brogdon entered the sport and the Celtics went off and working. After falling behind early, the Celtics ripped off an enormous first-half run and by no means seemed again as they took full management of their first-round sequence with a 119-106 Game 2 victory.
Jayson Tatum scored 29 factors – together with 5 3-pointers – and a few large buckets down the stretch because the Celtics held off a number of rallies from Dejounte Murray and the Hawks. It was his supporting forged that spurred the C’s to a commanding 2-0 sequence lead.
The Celtics have proven off their depth all season. They have gamers on the bench who may begin for many groups elsewhere within the league. And that’s all come collectively this season as a result of they every embrace their roles.
“We have a bunch of guys that don’t really care that want to win,” Mazzulla mentioned. “We’re in a window now where everybody’s willing to put everything aside to want to win and I’m grateful for that.”
No group on the Celtics could exemplify that greater than their three-headed guard trio of Marcus Smart, Brogdon and Derrick White, who had been all instrumental on this Celtics victory. White scored 26 factors and 7 rebounds. Smart, after rediscovering his defensive kind in Game 1, made a number of hustle performs. Brogdon – who crammed up the stat sheet with 13 factors, eight assists and 7 rebounds – modified all the pieces.
The C’s trailed 22-11 when Williams checked in, and moments later, trailed by 9 when Brogdon got here in. Soon, their deficit evaporated. Williams ignited a 17-3 quarter-ending run that was capped when Brogdon banked in a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from halfcourt that gave the Celtics the lead for good.
“I pulled up because I thought (the defender) wasn’t going to stop me and luckily it went in,” Brogdon instructed NBC Sports Boston.
The Celtics ended the primary half by outsourcing the Hawks 50-27 – led by Brogdon’s six helpers – as they turned an 11-point deficit right into a 12-point halftime lead. They prolonged their lead within the second half by being the extra bodily crew and returning to their defensive id. On one sequence halfway by way of the third, Williams blocked a layup try from John Collins, who acquired it again. But then Al Horford helped and blocked one other try as they wrestled the ball away.
On the following play, Tatum discovered Horford for a nook 3-pointer that pushed the Celtics’ result in 20.
The Hawks made a run – utilizing a seven-point spurt from Murray – to chop their deficit to single digits and trailed by eight within the fourth quarter twice on Bogdan Bogdanovic triples. But White punched again every time. He hit a 3-pointer to make it a 13-point sport with 6:33 to go, then after Trae Young stole a go for a breakaway layup, White discovered Tatum for a 3-pointer. White then made a layup and two free throws within the span of 40 seconds to revive the result in 14 because the Celtics sealed Game 2.
Even with the Celtics’ brief bench to date in these playoffs, White’s play exemplified the power of their roster – how dynamic their depth is past Tatum and Brown.
“That’s the beauty of being on a great team, being able to have multiple threats out there, to be able to play the game different ways and win in different ways,” Brown mentioned. “Tonight was an example of that. D-White just exploded. On any given night, it can be anybody. You just have to encourage that. I tell D-White all the time, be aggressive, be confident.”
The Celtics could also be up 2-0 on this sequence on the power of two double-digit victories, however they’re removed from glad. After committing 17 turnovers in Game 1, that they had 14 extra in Game 2. They surrendered 19 offensive rebounds to the Hawks on Tuesday. They haven’t been sharp on the margins that Mazzulla all the time preaches.
As they head to Atlanta for Games 3 and 4 this weekend, they know there’s nonetheless loads of room for enchancment.
“We took a great shot from Atlanta tonight,” Brown mentioned. “I believed we responded effectively by transferring the ball. Different guys stepped up and made performs and that’s what we’re gonna want within the playoffs. Now occurring the highway, we gotta take that very same mentality and look to be aggressive in a tricky Atlanta atmosphere.
“This is a part of the journey. Two games up is great taking care of home. But being able to win games on the road is gonna ultimately make you a championship team. So this is the first test and I’m looking forward to it.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com