Jaylen Brown pulls Celtics away 126-110 from Pacers in Game 2 after All-NBA snub
BOSTON — As five Pacers defenders lined up above the free throw line, Payton Pritchard snuck behind them. It took the Celtics a moment to notice, but Derrick White looked up and saw his teammate standing in the corner.
“I was watching film,” Pritchard said this morning. “Usually I’m really good at crashing the glass. Didn’t really have much of that. Some defensive lapses at times, jumping at pump fakes, giving up driving lanes, bad close-outs. Just uncharacteristic plays by myself. I look forward to redeeming myself tonight.”
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It also took some time for Boston to string together an extended run to completely put away the Pacers for the first time in the series. Even the largest Celtics runs inspired an Indiana response, especially as Rick Carlisle hemorrhaged timeouts from the sideline through the first two games. Pritchard’s 5-0 run, which continued when he dribbled into a layup off the glass on the following possession, vaulted Boston ahead 89-76 in an eventual 126-110 win.
The opening minutes of Game 2 almost perfectly resembled Game 1 save for the runaway Celtics run to start Tuesday’s win. That came at the beginning of the second when Boston went small following Luke Kornet’s left wrist strain. Oshae Brissett entered for his first minutes (+11 in his first stint) of the playoffs while the Celtics stopped the first eight Pacers attempts in the frame, mostly funneling them into the paint. Boston forced 10 first half turnovers, slowly trying to wean Indiana down from a 58% start from the field in the first.
On offense, the Celtics grabbed 10 offensive rebounds on 27 misses before halftime, Brown pouring back a third-chance bucket following Sam Hauser’s miss to spark a takeover quarter. Brown reached 14 of the team’s 24 points late after Indiana answered Boston’s 17-0 run to open the frame with a 7-0 run of their own. Pascal Siakam started the game 12-for-14, relentlessly attacking Al Horford and Boston’s interior while Jayson Tatum started 2-for-8, mostly deferring to Brown as he heated up. He took a Derrick White block on Andrew Nembhard coast-to-coast, following that make with a pair of driving layups to put the Celtics ahead again — by 13.
