Mazzulla went with his usual starters, but mixed and matched throughout the entire first half searching for some rhythm of both ends of the floor. The starters came out uneven offensively, and the bench was much of the same outside of Payton Pritchard until halftime.

Neither the game's physicality, its chippiness, nor the continued struggles for Boston to connect from beyond the arc stymied the Celtics.

They also managed to pull it off without Jrue Holiday, who missed his second consecutive playoff game and will miss his third in Game 5. Following the win, the Celtics released a locker room video of the message head coach Joe Mazzulla gave the team after the win.