Halftime recap: Pacers 51, Celtics 57 (Game 2)

Thursday, May 23 at 8:00 p.m. ET at TD Garden

The Pacers will need to catch up in the second half of Game 2 to even their best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals series against the Boston Celtics. The Celtics used a 17-0 run early in the second quarter to take a 57-49 halftime lead on Thursday night at TD Garden.

Celtics All-Star forward Jaylen Brown scored 24 points in the first half (16 in the second quarter), making 8 of 16 field goals and 6 of 8 free throws.

Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 16 points on 8 of 9 shooting.

The Pacers got off to a much better start on Thursday than they did in Game 1, where they trailed 12-0 to begin the night. Indiana led by as many as six points in the opening period and entered the second quarter with a 27-25 lead.

TJ McConnell scored seven points in the first quarter as a substitute, while Tyrese Haliburton had five points and three assists.

PLAYOFF HEADQUARTERS: Follow Indiana's postseason run on Pacers.com/Playoffs >>

The start of the second quarter, however, belonged to the Celtics. Jaylen Brown scored 10 points as Boston opened the period with a 17-0 run to secure its first double-digit lead of the night.

The Pacers went more than five minutes without scoring a point to start the quarter. They didn't score until Aaron Nesmith drew a foul and made both free throws with 6:45 left in the quarter. Up until that point, they missed eight shots and had three turnovers. Nesmith hit a three-pointer on the next possession to give Indiana its first field goal of the quarter.

Siakam gave the Blue-Goldens a nice boost at the end of the half and scored the Pacers' last 10 points, bringing the visitors back to within six points before the break.

Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard each scored nine points, while Haliburton had eight points, four rebounds and six assists.

Jrue Holiday scored ten points for Boston in the first half, making four of four shots (2 of 2 three-pointers) and adding seven assists.

Broadcast information (TV and radio program >>)

TV: ESPN – Mike Breen (live report), Doris Burke (commentator), JJ Redick (commentator), Lisa Salters (sideline reporter)

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan – Mark Boyle (live commentary), Eddie Gill (commentator), Jeremiah Johnson (studio host)

The Eastern Conference finals move to Indianapolis when the Pacers host the Celtics for Game 3 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday, May 25 at 8:30 p.m. ET. Find tickets >>