(Basketball news) The Boston Celtics bounced back in game 2 when they beat the Miami Heat 127-102 as the series is now levelled at 1-1. For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum scored 27 points, Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown each had 24 as Grant Williams scored 19 points, Payton Pritchard and Al Horford each had 10 for them. For the Heat, Jimmy Butler had 29 points in 32 minutes as Gabe Vincent and Victor Oladipo each scored 14 points, and Tyler Herro added 11 points. The 25-point halftime lead was the biggest by the Celtics in any road playoff game, topping a 22-point edge at the break at Chicago in 2009. With this result the series is on a knife's edge as both teams head to Boston tomorrow to play game three, which could be a crucial match for both the teams. 

''Guys have pride and looked at a golden opportunity that we kind of lost (in Game 1) and thought we could do much better,'' Udoka said. ''And we did that tonight.''

''We were pretty confident,'' Pritchard said.

''This only counts as one,'' Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ''That's what the experienced players in the locker room and staff understand. We don't like it. They played extremely well. You have two really good teams and we just have to figure some things out.''

''It's a loss, whether you lose by one or by 20,'' Vincent said. ''It's regroup, go back to the drawing board and get ready for Game 3.''

''They came out,'' Heat centre Bam Adebayo said, ''and hit us in the mouth.''

''I got to get my rest, got to get my health back, got to watch and see some things and come out and execute in this game,'' Smart said.

''It has to hurt,'' Butler said. ''They tried to embarrass us. They did embarrass us. … Overall, we just have to be better.''

The Golden State Warriors have taken a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference final as they beat the Dallas Mavericks 126-117. For the Warriors, Curry scored 32 points with six 3-pointers and eight more rebounds, Looney had a career-high 21 points and 12 rebounds, Jordan Poole scored 23 points off the bench, Andrew Wiggins had 16 and Klay Thompson added 15 points for a second straight game. Golden State scored 62 points in the paint. For the Mavericks, Doncic scored 42 points and shot 12 for 23 and shined in a game of brilliant shotmaking. The Warriors finished 56.1% from the floor. In the first half alone, Dallas edged Golden State 52.3% to 51.2%, including a remarkable 55.6% to 53.3% from 3-point range. 

''I feel honoured just to be a part of the ride,'' Looney said.

''We have that attitude and spirit that we're never out of it,'' Curry said.

''We know how good they are as a third-quarter team,'' Dallas forward Reggie Bullock said. ''It's just something that slipped away from us as the game continued to go on.''

''Against someone that good you're just trying to limit the easy stuff,'' Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.

''It's the Warriors. They have a great team. They're a championship team. We've got to adjust our defence,'' Doncic said. ''… We were up 19, so it's a tough situation. But we can't look back. What happened, happened. So we've got to move on.''

''We're on the road against one of the best teams in the league. It happens. They held serve,'' Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. ''We've seen this in Phoenix so now we have to go back and just focus on Game 3.''

Kerr asked his team to settle down. ''I told them that if we developed some poise in the second half, that the game would come to us,'' he said. ''But I thought we were so scattered in the first half. Maybe emotionally more so than anything. Dallas came out and just punched us.''

Also read: Warriors win against Mavericks in the Western conference finals