It was the turning point of the game. The Portland Trail Blazers were slightly ahead heading into halftime, and that’s when the Celtics turned into a defensive wrecking ball. Entering the last three minutes of the first half, the Celtics were down 54-51. By the start of the second half, they were up by 11.
To finish the second quarter strong, the Celtics changed both their lineup and defensive coverage. As the Blazers were playing tall-ball with Donovan Clingan, the Celtics went small and adjusted their defensive approach. They switched off-ball to keep Al Horford close to the rim, and when they couldn’t switch, Horford was in drop coverage to limit access to the paint as much as possible.