IN A NUTSHELL This one was a little different. Shots landed more regularly for both teams, and for much of the game it looked like things were going in the Pacers’ direction—long stretches with a double-digit lead on their part.
There’s a brief scene in Martin Scorsese’s film Gangs of New York in which an illegal bareknuckle boxing match ends with one shirtless, heavyset and exhausted man knocking out his equally shirtless, heavyset and exhausted counterpart, throwing a knockout to win the fight in the 75th round. The first playoff game between the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers was a lot like that, in which both teams played hard and not good but Boston won the grindfest with tighter defense and less awful shooting.
Recap: Celtics survive Pacers' shooting barrage, seal Game 2 win with last-minute bombs
