BOSTON – Celtics coach Brad Stevens stated before Game 2 that great players “always respond.”
He was referring to his expectation that LeBron James, coming off of a postseason-low 15-point performance during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, would bounce back Tuesday night with a monster Game 2 effort.
It turned out that Stevens’ prediction was right. James responded to his quiet Game 1 effort with an incredible, 42-point, 12 assist, 10-rebound Game-2 performance.
But Boston answered right back – as a team – and that was enough to overshadow James’ mighty individual effort, as it came away with a 107-94 win at TD Garden to earn a 2-0 lead in the series.