BOSTON — Jaylen Brown tied a career playoff high with 40 points, 10 of them as Boston went on a 20-point first-half lead to lead the Celtics past the Indiana Pacers on Thursday. We won 126-110. They opened up a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
Brown, who forced overtime with a 3-pointer with 5.7 seconds left in Game 1, helped Boston turn a five-point deficit in the first quarter into a 15-point lead in the second.
Jayson Tatum and Derrick White each had 23 points and Jrue Holiday had 15 points and 10 assists for the top-seeded Celtics, who lost both games in their previous series this postseason.
Pascal Siakam scored 28 points for Indiana, which returns home for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Monday nights. Tyrese Haliburton, who had 25 points and 10 assists in the series opener, had 10 points and 8 assists on Thursday before leaving the game in the third quarter with a left leg injury.
One play after the Celtics jumped out to a 12-0 lead and Indiana spent the remainder of the first half on a comeback win, the lead changed hands 10 times in the opening quarter and the Pacers held a 27-22 advantage with 1:14 left. left.
And Boston scored the next 20 points.
Indiana missed nine straight shots and committed four turnovers in a drought that lasted more than six minutes. Brown scored 10 points himself during the game and had 24 points in the first half. He opened the third quarter with two quick baskets to give the Celtics a 61-52 lead.
However, Siakam also showed a hot performance in the second half, scoring 4 goals, including 1 2-pointer and 1 3-pointer, in the first 4 minutes to make it a 2-point game. Boston pulled away once again. This time he scored 16 of the next 21 points.
Indiana never got over single digits again.
Brown had 26 points as the Celtics won Tuesday night thanks to unforced errors by the Pacers, especially Haliburton. On Wednesday, Brown was left off the All-NBA team. A second-team selection last year made him eligible for a five-year supermax extension, making him the highest-paid player in the NBA.
Asked before the game whether he needed to talk to Brown about focusing on the team, Celtics coach Joe Mazzula said, “I don’t need to because he’s a very mature guy.”
“He has a great outlook on life. He knows what is important and what is not important,” Mazzulla said before the game. “He works really hard, and as a person and as a player, he knows who he is. That’s the most important thing.”
