Joel Embiid is announced as the MVP (from the Philadelphia Sixers' Twitter page)
Boston's statement game: After a surprising loss in the opening semi-finals of the Eastern Conference, the Celtics tonight (between Wednesday and Thursday) defeated Philadelphia 87:121 to tie the series 1:1, spoiling what was supposed to be Joel Embiid's private celebration.
The rookie MVP who missed the first game due to injury and saw James Harden carry the Sixers on his back, recovered and returned to the top five, but saw the Celtics' oiled machine defeat him and his teammates with a knockout.
The Celtics showed dominance from the first minutes.
Jayson Tatum did get into an early foul problem (and suffered from a weak game all evening), but the three-pointers returned in high percentages, the defense returned to being tough and disciplined, and this helped Boston open a small gap in the first half, when it goes into the break with an 8 lead. The Celtics also in the second half They started very strong, taking a 20 lead. Philly still managed to shrink to minus 13 in what looked like the beginning of a comeback, but Boston went on a 5:19 run, and in fact ended the game before the last quarter, which it reached with a safe 27 point lead.
At the time it was created, the Celtics, who led the record by 36 points, mainly improved statistics, and made sure to convey a message to the Phillies for the rest of the series.
Both were not at their peak, only one side knew how to cover it up.
Tatum versus Embiid (Photo: GettyImages, Maddie Meyer)
Again excels from the bench.
Brogdon (Photo: Reuters)
As mentioned, Boston did all this even on a weak and uncharacteristic day for Jayson Tatum, who finished with only 7 points on 1 of 7 from the field and played only 19 minutes due to a foul problem.
Jaylen Brown stepped up and finished as the leading scorer with 25 points, Malcolm Brogdon once again excelled off the bench with 23 and 6 rebounds, Derek White and Marcus Smart added 15 each and the Celtics mainly returned to the habits that characterized them all season, when they hit 20 threes at 40%, They share the ball with each other in an impressive way (26 assists compared to only 13 for the Sixers) and especially guard strongly.
This strong defense brought Philly to the ground.
After hitting 17 3-pointers in Game 1, she settled for 6 3-pointers on just 20% tonight, and saw previous game hero James Harden held to 12 points on just 2-of-14 from the field including 0-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Tobias Harris led the scoring list with 16 points along with 7 rebounds, while Embiid who played 27 minutes reached 15 points and 5 blocks, but still looks far from his usual form.
Tyrese Maxey was also limited to 13 points (6 of 14 from the field).
The top scorer.
Jaylen Brown (Photo: GettyImages, Maddie Meyer)
This time it looks much less good.
Harden (Photo: Reuters)
Now the series will move to Philadelphia, who will hope to recover in game 3 which will be held on the night between Friday and Saturday.
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Philadelphia Sixers
Boston Celtics
