The Cleveland Cavaliers obliterated the Boston Celtics at TD Garden, so much so that home fans left the venue even before the final buzzer.
Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with a game-high 29 points to lead his team to a 118-94 victory over their hosts and tie the series at 1-1.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 44 points, but Derrick White, who was sensational in Game 1, only scored 10 points.
Starter Jrue Holiday left no impact with just four points and a -21 efficiency.
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The Celtics are in a similar situation to the one they were in during the first round against the Miami Heat, as they surrendered a home advantage.
As the No. 1 seed overall, they are the favorites to win every series, but that was not the case in both second games of their playoff campaign.
Where things went wrong for them in Game 2?
Here are the three main takeaways from the Celtics' most recent loss:
1. Cs obsession with 3 is their doing
Everyone from the Celtics except Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman Sr. attempted a three-point shot before the team surrendered the match with five minutes to go.
Only Al Horford converted more than two three-pointers from a total team attempt of 35.
They event went blank in the third quarter when all their 3-point shots were missed.
The total number of their attempts was not beyond normal. However, what's uncharacteristic was the misses.
The game plan was to barrage the Cavs with three-pointers.
However, a team should not wait until the fourth quarter to develop a new strategy; otherwise, they will find themselves in a deep hole, just like what happened in this game.
2. KP is sorely missed
They say that in the NBA playoffs, the first one to win a game is always the losing team.
It makes sense because the winning team can become complacent, and the Game 1 loser will make the adjustments.
That happened in Game 2 when Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff exploited the Celtics' lack of rim protection while Kristaps Porzingis remained out.
His team brought the game inside and set the tone for the second half. The team scored 36 of its 60 first-half points inside the paint.
The Cavs even routed the Cs' defense down low when they scored 22 points in the paint against their hosts' 6.
Expect Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and even Darius Garland to continue pouncing on the opponent's weakness.
3. The Cavs' bench came out to play
Production from the Cavs' bench was not great in their first eight games.
They came through in Game 2 as the team tried to avoid a 0-2 hole.
Cleveland's bench from Game 1 combined for just 15 points, while for Game 2, they more than doubled that with 31.
Caris LeVert led the second unit with 21 points. Even Tristan Thompson made his presence felt in the second half.
The Celtics' bench scored 17 impactful points. The other seven bench points were made after they had already raised the white flag.
If the Cs want to get back at this, the bench must ensure they offset what they have been missing in Porzingis whenever the starters don't produce as expected.
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