BOSTON — For the first six minutes on Tuesday night, the Celtics were playing at their worst.
They were lazy on offense. Jaylen Brown committed three turnovers in the opening minutes. Their defense – which was so good in Game 1 – was an open door. The Celtics were expecting a strong Hawks response and they got it.
But when Joe Mazzulla turned to his bench, everything changed. The deepest team in the NBA showed itself again, even if Mazzulla has only gone eight deep to start the playoffs. Robert Williams, then Malcolm Brogdon entered the game and the Celtics went off and running. After falling behind early, the Celtics ripped off a huge first-half run and never looked back as they took complete control of their first-round series with a 119-106 Game 2 victory.
