Celtics dominate 76ers to grab 2-0 series lead; Raptors, Jazz earn wins

Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Behind another strong outing from Jayson Tatum, the Boston Celtics cruised to a 128-101 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.

Tatum posted a team-high 33 points to go with five assists and five rebounds. He had a career playoff high in points for the second consecutive game after scoring 32 in the series opener Monday.

"I'm playing confident," Tatum said. "Just trying to be aggressive and trying to make the right play. I say that a lot, but that's as easy as I can break it down."

All-Star guard Kemba Walker scored 22 points and Jaylen Brown added 20 for the Celtics, who shot 51.2% from the field and 44.2% from 3-point range. Out of the 13 Celtics players who took the floor in Game 2, 10 of them knocked down at least one 3-pointer.

"I think it got deflating when their shot makers went bananas," 76ers head coach Brett Brown said. "I'm not going to scold [our] effort. I think you've got to shake their hands -- the Celtics -- on some of the shots."

76ers star Joel Embiid recorded 34 points and 10 rebounds, while Josh Richardson had 18 points.

"It's a long series," Embiid said. "We've got a long way to go. Obviously, this was a tough one tonight. We've got to lock in and get ready for Game 3."

Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is set for Friday inside the league's bubble near Orlando, Fla.

In other NBA action Wednesday, the defending champion Toronto Raptors outlasted the Brooklyn Nets to grab a 2-0 lead, while the Utah Jazz dominated the Denver Nuggets to even that series at one game apiece.

The Raptors used a fourth-quarter surge to edge the Nets 104-99 in a game Toronto trailed for more than three quarters. Fred VanVleet notched 24 points and 10 assists, while Norman Powell had a big game off the bench with 24 points.

The Jazz shook off an overtime loss in Monday's Game 1 to beat the Nuggets 124-105. Utah star guard Donovan Mitchell followed up his historic 57-point outing from the opener with 30 points and eight assists in the second game of the series.

Rudy Gobert tallied 19 points and seven boards and Joe Ingles added 18 points for the Jazz. Jordan Clarkson dropped 26 points in 29 minutes off the bench.