Duke Basketball: Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum lead Celtics to Game 2 victory
Former Duke Basketball players were on display in Boston on Wednesday night as Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum led the Celtics to a Game 2 victory.
The Duke Basketball program has produced a great deal of NBA talent and for most nights in the regular season that talent is on display in Boston.
Two of the NBA’s best, Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum, put on a clinic in Beantown on Wednesday night, giving their Boston Celtics a 2-0 series lead over the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
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The game’s two leading scores were in white and green as Irving led the way with 37 points and Tatum followed his lead with 26 points.
Irving was also able to add six rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and a steal on 15-of-26 shooting, 6-of-10 from 3-point range, and splitting a pair at the free throw line.
Tatum’s 26 points came on 11-of-20 shooting, 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, and making his lone free throw attempt in addition to four rebounds, two assists, and a steal in Boston’s 99-91 win.
The Duke duo combined for 63 of Boston’s 99 points, as the next leading scorer on Boston was Gordon Hayward‘s 13 points.
Other than those three players, no one on the Celtics was able to reach the seven point mark.
Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum both played a team high 39 minutes in the victory.
Tatum’s 27 points fell one point shy of a playoff career high that he set last season in a victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Irving’s playoff career high is 42 points that he set when he was a member of the Cleveland Cavilers against the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the 2016-17 Eastern Conference Finals.
With two games in the books in Boston, the series now shifts to Indiana were the Pacers will host Games 3 and 4.
Game 3 is scheduled for Friday, April 19, at 8:30pm ET on ABC, while Game 4 is scheduled for Sunday, April 21, at 1:00pm ET also on ABC, with Game 5 back in Boston on Wednesday, April 24, if necessary.