Jalen Green torched the Golden State Warriors for 38 points, hitting 8 of 18 from beyond the arc, as the Houston Rockets cruised to a 109-94 victory in Game 2 on Wednesday, leveling their Western Conference first-round series.
The night worsened for the seventh-seeded Warriors with the loss of Jimmy Butler III to a pelvic contusion late in the first quarter, forcing him to miss the rest of the game and head for an MRI.
The second-seeded Rockets never trailed, building a 20-point lead in the second half. Green led the charge, erupting for 15 points in the third quarter, including three 3-pointers, as Houston held off a Warriors comeback attempt. The Rockets finished 15-for-40 from deep (37.5 percent), with Green contributing more than half of their total.
The Rockets shot 39-for-86 (45.3 percent) from the floor overall, but their shooting both inside the 3-point arc and beyond it improved dramatically from Sunday, when they fell 95-85 in Game 1.
Without the versatile Butler, Golden State relied heavily on its 3-point shooting and went 17-for-43 (39.5 percent) from long range. Coupled with a poor 11-of-18 effort at the free-throw line, the Warriors could not muster enough offense.
Celtics 109, Magic 100
Jaylen Brown scored a game-high 36 points, and Boston overcame the absence of leading scorer Jayson Tatum to beat visiting Orlando in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Brown was 12 of 19 from the field, including 5-of-7 from 3-point territory, grabbed 10 rebounds, and had five assists. Kristaps Porzingis added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the second-seeded Celtics, who hold a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Derrick White (17), Payton Pritchard (14), and Jrue Holiday (11) also scored in double figures.
The seventh-seeded Magic received 32 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists from Paolo Banchero. Franz Wagner finished with 25 points, and Wendell Carter Jr. had 16.
Cavaliers 121, Heat 112
Donovan Mitchell scored 17 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, and Darius Garland contributed 21 points and nine assists as Cleveland held off visiting Miami to take a 2-0 lead in an Eastern Conference first-round series.
The Cavaliers made 11 3-pointers in the second quarter, a team playoff record for any period. Evan Mobley had 20 points and six rebounds, and Mitchell finished 7 of 10 from beyond the arc.
Tyler Herro collected 33 points, six rebounds, and five assists for the Heat. Bam Adebayo had 11 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists, and Haywood Highsmith scored 17 points, making 5 of 6 3-point attempts.