Joel Embiid, center, of the Philadelphia 76ers, is pressured by Jaylen Brown, left, and Jayson Tatum, right, of the Boston Celtics during Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. | AP
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida — Jayson Tatum scored 33 points and the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 128-101 on Wednesday night (Thursday morning, August 20, 2020, Philippine Time) to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.
Tatum scored a career playoff high for the second straight game after scoring 32 points in the opener Monday.
Kemba Walker added 22 points and Jaylen Brown had 20 for the Celtics. Boston shot 51% from the field and committed just seven turnovers, including two in the first three quarters.
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Joel Embiid had 34 points and 10 rebounds for the 76ers, and Josh Richardson added 18 points.
The Celtics lost starting forward Gordon Hayward to a right ankle sprain in Game 1, and expect him to be out for approximately four weeks. Marcus Smart stepped into the starting lineup, and Boston adjusted seamlessly.
The 76ers led by 14 in the first quarter, but the Celtics rallied to lead 65-57 at halftime.
Brown’s 360-degree dunk with just under eight minutes left in the third quarter put the Celtics up 74-59. Boston extended its lead to 98-75 at the end of the third quarter. The Celtics held the 76ers to 22 percent shooting in the period.