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The Boston Celtics' 99-91 victory over the Indiana Pacers in the second game of their NBA playoff first-round match was settled by a wide disparity at the last minute. A merger of the Pacers and a sudden eruption of the Celtics allowed Boston to avenge its deficit by 12 points compared to the beginning of the quarter.
Indiana had a stronghold on this game for most of the second half. Bojan Bogdanovic caught fire for 23 points and helped Indiana to withstand the 37-point attack from Kyrie Irving. Myles Turner was also a defensive hero and everything was fine for the Pacers team without a superstar.
Then the critical time hit.
What happened during the 51 seconds merge?
Indiana, the team without a real superstar, is strangely trapped. Bogdanovic forced two shots on goal, Wesley Matthews looked away from afar and the Pacers hit a wall. They went aimlessly in the last two minutes and 15 seconds of the match. Their bad offense also persisted at the other end of the ground when the Celtics became a united group, moving the ball into the hands of the open man. It was not the takeover of Kyrie, which could be expected, despite his excellent shooting night.
The moment that upset this match was on a Bogdanovic player at the rim. Indiana's sweet dove has been sucked by Al Horford. This game led Jaylen Brown to run in transition and give the kickoff to a remote Jayson Tatum.
It was a five-point swing highlighting everything that went well for Boston and went bad for Indiana.
From that moment, things became super ugly. At 12 seconds from the end, Indiana still had the opportunity to score three points. Embarrassing, Matthews threw an air pass far above Bogdanovic, almost declaring the game for an unforced error.
Boston then closed the game as antithesis to the disappearance of the Pacers. The team work allowed Gordon Hayward to pass from a trap to Horford, who found a Tatum to cut for a bucket and a.
It's a good sign for the Celtics fans: their team is not only up 2-0 in the series, but it's because of Irving's dominance AND willingness to keep everyone involved. In a few moments, he needs his space to regain control, but for Boston to really be what we thought we were, everyone must participate. Game 2 was the proof.
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