The Boston Celtics have also won game 2 of their playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers with a convincing 128: 101. Jayson Tatum again delivered a strong performance, Joel Embiid was on his own for the Sixers (click here for the highlights of the game).
Boston Celtics (3) – Philadelphia 76ers (6) 128:101 (BOXSCORE), Serie: 2:0
After Game 1, two things were on the agenda for the 76ers: to provide Embiid with balls and to keep Tatum away from them as much as possible. While the former was at least partially successful, the latter did not work at all – with 33 points (12/20 FG), 5 rebounds and 5 assists, the guard was once again the outstanding man of the Celtics (click here for the Tatum highlights).
He received support from all sides. Kemba Walker (22, 8/16 FG) and Jaylen Brown (20, 6/13 FG) took over part of the scoring load, Brad Wanamaker (7) and Enes Kanter (10, 9) also repeatedly scored important points. The latter was particularly convincing in the second quarter when he held up well in a duel with Embiid.
Things looked very different with Philadelphia. Embiid was by far the best player in the Sixers (34, 10, 11/21 FG), but their tactic of only going over him backfired completely. The 76ers played far too one-dimensional, remained completely harmless from a distance (5/19 threesome), as well as in the fast break (1:17 fast break points).
Only Josh Richardson (18) and Shake Milton (14) provided relief in places, Tobias Harris (13, 4/15 FG) and the designated Tatum stopper Matisse Thybulle (plus-minus of -30!) Had used days.
Joel Embiid starts well – Jayson Tatum answers
Because Gordon Hayward is out for four weeks due to an ankle injury, Marcus Smart moved into the starting lineup of the Celtics. Brett Brown also adjusted his first five: Al Horford took a seat on the bench and was replaced by Thybulle, who should make life a little more difficult for Tatum after his strong performance in Game 1.
At first, he didn’t seem too impressed and shot Thybulle a step-back threesome in the face in the first attack. On the offensive, the Sixers’ plan – to give Embiid the ball – worked a little better. Against Daniel Theis, the all-star converted in the post with a foul, right in the next possession he scored with a hook shot, again against Theis. Led by Embiid (15 points in the 1st quarter) Philadelphia moved up to 14 points away, Tatum (11 points) was able to shorten to 27:33.
In the second section, the Boston star picked up where he left off. Unimpressed by Thybulles defense, he gave the 76ers two threes, supported by Wanamaker and Kanter, he had turned the game in favor of the Celts after a short time. The latter also did his job properly on the defensive, forcing Embiid to miss throws (only 5 points in the 2nd quarter) and collected 7 rebounds. Walker was also picking up speed, scoring 13 points in five minutes – Philadelphia was lucky to be only 8 points behind (57:65) at halftime.
Philadelphia only through Embiid – Boston is moving away
Even after the break, the Sixers were looking for Embiid – over and over and over again. The center laboriously fought for its points in the midrange and on the line, the Celtics took advantage of the one-dimensional game of the Sixers, stole the ball again and again and in return found simple points in transition (indicative of Jaylen Brown’s 360-Dunk) and from a distance (15: 4 threes after 3 quarters). When Embiid was substituted just four minutes before the end of the quarter, his 76ers were already unattainable 68:87 – only 2 points had come from teammates so far.
In the final quarter, Boston didn’t let anything go wrong. The Celtics responded immediately to points from Embiid or Harris, and every run was nipped in the bud. In the end it was a more than clear thing for the Celts (128: 101), who should confidently go into the coming games. The Sixers, on the other hand, have to pull something out of their hat if they want to make the series exciting again – the all-over-embiid tactic didn’t work too well, at least this time.
Game 3 of the series takes place on Saturday night (0.30 a.m.).
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