Celtics rally past 76ers for 2-0 series lead
Terry Rozier had 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds to help host Boston erase a 22-point deficit en route to 108-103 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night, giving the Celtics a 2-0 lead in an Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Jayson Tatum had 21 points, Marcus Smart added 19 and both Al Horford and Jaylen Brown scored 13 for Boston, which also claimed a 117-101 victory on Monday in the opener of the best-of-seven series. Horford grabbed 12 rebounds.
JJ Redick led Philadelphia with 23 points, making five 3-pointers. Robert Covington finished with 22 points and nine rebounds while Joel Embiid totaled 20 points and 14 rebounds for the 76ers.
Game 3 is Saturday in Philadelphia.
Brown played after being upgraded from doubtful to probable before tip-off. He missed the Celtics' Game 1 win because of a strained right hamstring that he sustained in Game 7 of the previous series against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Celtics led 79-75 entering the fourth.
Covington's 3-pointer with 9:46 remaining restored the 76ers' lead at 82-81, and the teams went back-and-forth down the stretch.
The Celtics took the lead for good on Marcus Morris' trey, making it 96-95, with 4:13 to go. Boston ended the game on a 12-8 run after that, leading by as many as seven in the last two minutes.
Boston closed the first half on a 21-5 surge to trim the Philadelphia lead, once up to 22 in the second quarter, to 56-51 at the break.
Rozier tied the game at 58 with his two free throws with 8:51 on the clock in the third quarter, and an Aron Baynes 3-pointer at 7:45 gave the Celtics their first lead at 64-63.
Tatum's dunk with 2:24 left in the third capped a 50-20 run for Boston, putting the hosts up 76-68.
Philadelphia opened the game on an 8-0 run before Smart's corner 3-pointer with 8:37 left in the first put Boston on the board.
Brown checked in for the first time with 7:14 to play in the first. His thunderous dunk with 6:39 on the clock got the crowd on its feet and brought the Celtics within 11-7.
--Field Level Media
