BY PRIYANKA SINGHAL
The Boston Celtics spent the past 48 hours feeling "angry and pissed," according to coach Joe Mazzulla, after the way they dropped Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals to the Philadelphia 76ers at home.
So from the opening minutes of Game 2 on Wednesday night, Celtics guard Jaylen Brown was determined to set a different tone for the rest of the team to follow.
"Our strength is our depth," said Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon, who tied a franchise playoff record with six 3-pointers off the bench and finished with 23 point
It all led to a dominant effort from the Celtics, who responded with 121-87 victory over the Sixers in Game 2.
Meanwhile, the Celtics kept up the intensity on the defensive end all night. They held Harden to 12 points following his 45-point outburst in Game 1 and kept a returning and newly minted NBA MVP Joel Embiid to only 15 points.
"You never want to go into a game where you feel like you let one go," Celtics forward Grant Williams said. "We did that too much last year, we've done that too much this year. It definitely gives you a certain edge. But now it's a matter of, can you do the same thing the next game.