Jayson Tatum takes a shot against Joel Embiid. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- Brad Stevens' squad rallied from down 22 to steal Game 2 and take a 2-nothing lead in the East semifinals.
"I would say that that was a win that was largely attributed to the unbelievable effort of our players and the other 18,000 people in here," he said.
It was a total team--and building--effort.
But it helped that Ben Simmons struggled mightily. The C's limited the Rookie of the Year favorite to 1.5 turnovers, and a minus-23 rating in 31 minutes.
Of course, the Sixers guard wasn't inclined to credit the Green for anything.
"The way the Heat played, it was nothing compared to Celtics," Simmons said. "Physically, the Heat were on another level, but yeah, I think it was self-inflicted for myself, personally, for my own game. And team-wise, I think, immensely we made too many errors when we had that lead, and we need to stay on it."
Jaylen Brown returned from his hamstring strain to hit some big shots among his 13 points.
"We just play basketball, man," he said. "We got a great coach in Brad Stevens, we got a great front office in Danny Ainge and his crew, and we got some really tough, talented guys in this locker room. When you put that three together, that's what makes success."
Game 3 is tomorrow in Philadelphia.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Adam Kaufman reports