On Thursday night, the Celtics defeated the Indiana Pacers 126-110 to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals. Jaylen Brown scored 40 points, which was his career playoff record. Brown scored 10 of those points during a 20-point run that Boston used to grab the lead.

Brown helped Boston go from down by five points in the first quarter to leading by fifteen points in the second quarter, building on his performance in Game 1s, when he forced OT with a 3-pointer with 5.7 seconds remaining in regulation.

Despite losing Game 2 of their two previous playoff series, the top-seeded Celtics still managed to put up a good showing thanks to 23 points from Jayson Tatum and Derrick White, as well as 15 and 10 assists from Jrue Holiday.Indiana, led by Pascal Siakam’s 28 pоints, will hоst Games 3 and 4 this cоming Saturday and Mоnday. In game оne оf the series, Tyrese Haliburtоn had 25 pоints and 10 assists; оn Thursday, he had 10 pоints and eight assists until he departed the game in the third quarter due tо a sоre left leg.

With 1:14 remaining in the first quarter, the Pacers held a 27-22 lead, one game after Indiana spent the remainder of the first half battling back from a 12-0 deficit. The lead changed hands ten times in the first quarter.

The Bruins went on to score 20 unanswered points.During the almost six-minute dry spell, Indiana failed to make a single field goal and instead gave the ball the ball four times. During the run, Brown scored 10 points alone, bringing his halftime total to 24. He then started the third quarter with two consecutive baskets to put the Celtics up 61-52.

However, Siakam also had a strong second half, scoring four points (two twos and two threes) in the opening four minutes to cut the lead to two points. With 16 points in the span of 21 seconds, Boston reclaimed the lead.

Once again, Indiana was unable to get within ten points.

In Tuesday night’s Celtics victory, Brown scored 26 points as a result of a number of Pacers turnovers, particularly from Haliburton, that cost them the game. After being named to the second team last year, Brown became the NBA’s highest-paid player thanks to a five-year supermax agreement; nonetheless, he was omitted from Wednesday’s All-NBA teams.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla remarked before the game, “He’s a very mature guy, so I don’t have to,” when asked if he needed to talk to Brown about focusing on the team instead than an individual snub.”He views life in a positive light. Mazzulla remarked before the game that he knows what matters and what doesn’t. He puts in a lot of time and effort, and he’s secure in his own identity on and off the field. To put it simply, that is paramount.