The battle between the 2nd and the 7th seeds in the East is looking like a bloodbath lately, literally and figuratively. The Boston Celtics, without Jayson Tatum, faced the Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner duo of the Orlando Magic in game 2 of the quarterfinals. Despite a terrific playoff outing from Banchero and the absence of Tatum, the Celtics still pulled away with a win to take a two-game-to-nothing lead in the series. However, that match wasn’t quite the easy route for the defending champions after players got heated in the usual playoff fashion.
Jaylen Brown took charge and stepped up without Tatum on the floor. The reigning Finals MVP finished with an efficient 36 points on 12-of-19 shooting, including five triples. On top of that, the 4-time All-Star also recorded 10 rebounds and 5 assists.
What summed up the intensity of this year’s postseason was when Kristaps Porzingis experienced his own playoff moment after exiting the court with a visible bloodied forehead gash. Porzingis was elbowed by Goga Bitadze, and fortunately, the unicorn was able to return to the game with a few stitches later on and then proceeded to put up a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Ol’ reliable backups–Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Jrue Holiday, and Al Horford–did absolutely everything to keep the Magic in check. White (17 points) and Holiday (11) took turns defending the perimeter while also actively finding the open man and hitting shots, with Pritchard (14) on the wing trying to knock down his threes.
However, it wasn’t an easy path for the C’s.
Orlando almost closed in on the gap early in the fourth quarter by cutting the deficit to within five. It also helped that the Celtics were unable to convert their fastbreak to easy points, which they are most excellent at. Compared to game 1, the Celtics couldn’t make it happen in game 2.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t capitalize on that, despite Banchero stuffing the stat sheet. Banchero, who has missed 34 games in the regular season, bounced back in the playoffs. The former No. 1 overall pick ended game 2 with 32 points, 7 assists, and 9 rebounds–leading the team in every major category. Wagner also chipped in with 25 points, but he wasn’t as effective in the second half compared to the first one.
Far before the game was supposed to conclude, Magic’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope did something bizarre to once again provoke his opponents and the whole fanbase. During the second quarter, KCP came rushing towards Horford, resulting in an unexpected collision which sent the 18-year-veteran crashing to the floor. Obviously, Horford would retaliate and was about to confront KCP. Had Jrue Holiday and head coach Joe Mazzulla not held Horford back, it could have been ugly instantly.
Well, that wasn’t the first time that Caldwell-Pope tried to anger the C’s throughout the series. In game 1, KCP committed a hard foul on Jayson Tatum, which was the culprit behind his wrist injury, which is also why he was ruled out in game 2.
Game 3 is already scheduled on April 26, and will be held in Orlando.
