Indiana Pacers @ Boston Celtics
Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 8:00 PM ET
TD Garden, Boston, MA | Game ID: 42300302
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
BOS 25 32 36 33 126IND 27 24 29 30 110
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Brown matches career playoff high with 40 points, Celtics beat Pacers to take 2-0 lead in East
BOSTON -- — Jaylen Brown was a big enough problem for the Indiana Pacers even before an All-NBA snub that may have given him an added desire to show how much he can do for the Boston Celtics .
“I think he cares about it in a way that motivates him, and I think he doesn’t really care about it at all,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said after watching Brown match his playoff career high of 40 points in Boston’s 126-110 victory over Indiana in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals Thursday night.
“He understands that winning is the most important thing,” Mazzulla said. “He just cares about the right stuff.”
Two nights after his game-saving 3-pointer and one day after he was left out of the voting for the league’s top 15 players, Brown scored 10 points during a 20-0 Boston run that turned a first-quarter deficit into a second-quarter lead that the Celtics never relinquished.
Asked if the All-NBA snub motivated him, Brown said, “I wouldn’t say that.” Asked to elaborate, he said colorfully: “We’re two games from the finals. I don’t got time to (care).”
Jayson Tatum and Derrick White scored 23 points apiece and Jrue Holiday had 15 points and 10 assists for the top-seeded Celtics, who lost Game 2 in both of their previous series this postseason.
Pascal Siakam scored 28 points for Indiana, which heads home for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Monday nights in an arena where they have won 11 straight games — including six in the playoffs — since March 18. Tyrese Haliburton , who had 25 points and 10 assists in the series opener, had 10 points and eight assists Thursday before leaving the game in the third.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said Haliburton injured his left hamstring — the same injury that kept him out of 10 games in January.
“We need Ty, but ‘next man’ mentality," Siakam said. "We’ve got to play together. This team got where we’re at by playing together. ... It’s on us to continue.”
One game after the Celtics jumped to a 12-0 lead and Indiana spent the rest of the first half clawing its way back, the lead changed hands 10 times in the opening quarter, with the Pacers holding a 27-22 edge with 1:14 left.
Then Boston scored the next 20 points.
Indiana missed nine straight shots and committed four turnovers during the drought that lasted more than six minutes. Brown scored 10 on his own during the run and had 24 at the half; he opened the third quarter with two quick baskets to give the Celtics a 61-52 lead.
But Siakam also came out hot in the second half, hitting four baskets in the first four minutes – a pair of 2s and a pair of 3s – to make it a two-point game. Boston pulled away again – this time for good, scoring 16 of the next 21 points.
Indiana never got within single digits again.
Brown scored 26 points Tuesday night, when the Celtics won thanks to some unforced errors by the Pacers — especially Haliburton — down the stretch. On Wednesday, Brown was left off the All-NBA teams; last year’s selection to the second team qualified him for a five-year supermax extension that made him the highest-paid player in the NBA.
“I mean, he has it going,” Holiday said. “Y’all see what I see. Great player. Great leader. But wants to win. And takes thinks into his own hands. So I’m glad to have him on my side. I ride with him. The way JB’s been playing, man, it’s outstanding.”
IND KarmaHide StintsShow StintsHide PMShow PMHide KarmaShow KarmaHide ScoresShow Scores
Who
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
INDAN A. Nembhard
AN A. Nesmith
BS B. Sheppard
DM D. McDermott
IJ I. Jackson
JS J. Smith
JW J. Walker
KB K. Brown
MT M. Turner
OT O. Toppin
PS P. Siakam
TH T. Haliburton
TM T. McConnell
BOSAH A. Horford
DW D. White
JB J. Brown
JH J. Holiday
JT J. Tatum
LK L. Kornet
OB O. Brissett
PP P. Pritchard
SH S. Hauser
SM S. Mykhailiuk
IND/BOS the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur