Celtics take 2-0 lead over Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton exits early; Oilers win Game 1 in double overtime

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THE BOSTON CELTICS

This was the game Celtics fans were worried about, and for good reason. Boston — a wonderful, powerful basketball machine — had lost three straight Game 2s, seemingly always finding a way to cast some doubt on its excellence.

Not this time. After trailing early, the Celtics ripped off a 20-0 run to take the lead from the Pacers, ultimately cruising to a 126-110 Game 2 win two days after a miraculous Game 1 victory.

Jaylen Brown tied a playoff career-high with 40 points, and it’s clear Indiana doesn’t have a good option to slow him down. Then again, when Brown is at the peak of his powers, no one does. He attacked relentlessly (11 free throws), finished strong at the rim and nailed four 3-pointers. Add in 23 each from Jayson Tatum and Derrick White and 14 points (on 6-for-7 shooting) and 10 assists by Jrue Holiday, and you see the very best of a team that dominated all regular season.

Also encouraging for the Celtics? They closed out the game on fire offensively, Jack Maloney notes.

• Maloney: “They shot 26 of 40 from the field, including 9 of 19 from downtown, and turned it over just three times. While the Celtics can be prone to lackadaisical stretches where they stand around and get sloppy with the ball, we saw none of that after the break. A two-minute stretch in the fourth quarter, after they had already built a 17-point lead, was their longest scoring drought of the half.”

👍 Honorable mentions

🤕 And not such a…