Game 2s have not gone well for the Boston Celtics this postseason. Two straight series, two straight ugly defeats in the same spot. Both times, they started the series with a blowout win, only to get outworked the next game.
The Miami Heat made a franchise-record 23 threes, and the Cleveland Cavaliers tallied their most points in a playoff game since 2018. But for as well as their opponents played, Boston simply failed to bring their A-game.
“I think it was just a little bit of effort and concentration,” Jrue Holiday said at shootaround on Saturday.