The Celtics’ frontcourt depth could take another hit after Game 2

The Boston Celtics have played most of this playoffs shorthanded in their frontcourt. Starting center Kristaps Porzingis suffered a calf injury in Game 4 of the first-round series against the Miami Heat and hasn't played since. That injury tested the Celtics' already thin depth among their big men, and that test could grow after Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Center Luke Kornet left the Celtics' Game 2 win in the first half, and was initially announced by the team as questionable to return with a wrist injury. However he wasn't seen for the rest of the game, not making it back to the Celtics' bench at any point. Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla didn't have an update on Kornet's status after the game.

Kornet has seen an increased role following Porzingis' injury in the first round. After playing just one in the first three games - with his lone five minutes coming in garbage time - he averaged 15 minutes per game since Game 5 of the first round prior to Thursday. In that time he was averaging 4.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.

By increasing Kornet's role the Celtics were able to manage Al Horford's increased workload. Following Porzingis' injury Horford played 32 minutes per game after averaging 26 in the regular season. Horford was able to flash at times in that increased role - he was the star of the Celtics' Game 5 closeout win over the Cleveland Cavaliers last round - but at times wear-and-tear has been apparent for the soon-to-be 38-year-old.

If Kornet is going to miss time beyond the second half of Game 2, the Celtics will need to adjust their rotation further. As of the latest reporting on Tuesday, Porzingis isn't expected to return until Game 4 of this series at the earliest. That would likely mean a bigger role for either Xavier Tillman, who did play some impact minutes during the Celtics' second-round series, or Neemias Queta, who has only played in garbage time.

The Celtics could also turn to a more small-ball lineup like ones they debuted in Game 2 on Thursday. Those lineups feature Jayson Tatum at the five, and could be strengthened by the emergence of Oshae Brissett, who played his first real playoff minutes in Game 2 following Kornet's injury. Brissett played 12 minutes and was tied for the team-high with a plus-18.

"We were kind of forced into it [due to the Luke Kornet injury], but I thought it went well. I liked the speed, I liked the athleticism, I liked the spacing that we had," Mazzulla said of the small-ball lineup after the game. "It presents strengths and some weaknesses that we have to be ready for."

Meanwhile, the Pacers suffered what could potentially be a very significant injury during Game 2. Guard Tyrese Haliburton - who was just named All-NBA Third Team - didn't finish the game due to 'left hamstring soreness.' He was seen limping to the team bus after the game.

It shouldn't be long to get an update on Kornet or Haliburton. Both teams will have updated injury reports by 5:00 p.m. ET on Friday.

Keep scrolling for more on the Celtics' Game 2 win...

On Thursday night at the Garden the Boston Celtics hosted the Indiana Pacers looking to take a 2-0 series lead after a miraculous rabbit out of the hat win in game 1. The Celtics got late game heroics from Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday and Jayson Tatum to come back from the brink of defeat and steal one from Indiana. The questions heading into game 2 would mostly all be on how Indiana would react to letting one get away in game 1.

Indiana would start off better in game 2 after going down 12-0 early in game 1 they scored the first basket of the night and looked steady early on. A small thing to look for tonight was could a slighted Jaylen Brown who was left off the All-NBA and All-NBA defensive teams be a little extra motivated to show he was deserving of those honors. I don't think Jaylen needs any more motivation but any possible edge in the playoffs can't hurt.

Boston would keep it's same rotations from game 1 as Pritchard and Kornet were the first two players off the bench for the Celtics. Indiana would continue to hit their midrange jumpers early and build an 18-17 lead with 5:11 to go in the first.

Indiana would continue to play well but couldn't separate themselves as Payton Pritchard would hit a 3 pointer to cut into the Pacers lead with 3:39 left in the first to make it a 23-20 game. The Pacers lights out shooting from midrange would continue as they were 9-14 from the field to start the game. Boston would struggle to hold onto the ball the final 3 minutes of the quarter but Indiana would struggle to capitalize only leading by two 27-25 at the end of the first quarter.

Boston would start to take advantage of their size early in the second quarter abusing the Pacers on the glass. Getting 4 offensive rebounds on one possession leading to an eventual Jaylen Brown layup to give Boston a 29-27 lead. The Celtics had 9 offensive rebounds in the first 14 minutes of the game, so while they weren't playing or shooting well early their rebounding fueled them to a lead. Boston would continue to dominate in the second quarter going on a 20-0 run led by Jaylen Brown to take a 40-27 lead with 8:01 to go in the half.

Maybe Jaylen Brown was feeling extra motivation after the All-NBA teams were released because he was far and away the best player on the floor in the first half impacting the game on both ends. The Pacers who were lights out in the first quarter were held scoreless for 6:29 before finally getting a pair of Aaron Nesmith free throws to make it a 42-29 game with 7:04 to go in the second. Indiana would continue to cut into Boston's lead with a Tyrese Haliburton three making it an 8 point game with just under 5 minutes to go in the half.

Jrue Holiday would kill any momentum the Pacers had though with a big 3 pointer and a defensive stop leading to a Jaylen Brown bucket to get Boston's lead up to 13, 56-43 with 1:52 left in the half. Jaylen Brown's would continue to be the story though as he was up to 23 points in 16 minutes making it look easy against the Pacers defense.

Indiana would get back to their first quarter shooting ways in the second led by an insane Pascal Siakam shooting game, Siakam had 26 points on 12/16 shooting to cut Boston's lead to 75-68 with 5:15 to go in the third. Boston would continue to struggle at times but the Pacers just couldn't close the lead, a Jaylen Brown 3 with 4:17 to go in the half would give Boston an 80-71 lead. Boston would get contributions from former Pacer Oshae Brissett off the bench hitting a layup on a great pass by Brown to give the Celtics an 11 point lead.

The Pacers would refuse to go away but with Brown's stellar performance and Tatum finally starting to hit shots in the third quarter the gap was tough to close. Jayson Tatum would hit his 4th bucket in a row to give Boston a 93-78 lead with 55 seconds to go in the third quarter. Boston would lead by 13 at the end of the third quarter 93-80 looking to take a decisive 2-0 series lead.

Boston would start the fourth leading by 13 trying to take advantage of a near perfect Jaylen Brown game. Jayson Tatum would get an and-1 early into the fourth to give Boston a 96-82 lead with 10:36 to go. The Celtics were in a familiar position last game but let Indiana back into the game would they be able to tell a different story tonight. Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton would be ruled out of the game with left leg soreness with 9 minutes to go a massive blow to the Pacers.

The Jaylen Brown show would continue with a driving layup to give him 35 points and the Celtics a 104-86 lead with 7:26 to go. A bizarre scuffle halfway through the fourth would lead to a Sam Hauser and Isaiah Jackson double technical. Jayson Tatum who struggled in the first half really picked it up in the second half finally hitting a 3 pointer to give Boston a 113-94 lead with 5 minutes to go in the game. Now Boston just needed to play a little defense minimize their mental lapses and they'd be 2 wins away from the NBA Finals.

Indiana would try and cut into the lead but Rick Carlisle couldn't find the right lineup to match the Celtics in the second half. Tatum would hit an and-1 layup with 2:55 to go to make it a 117-102 game and Boston was on the verge of a 2-0 series lead. It was Jaylen Brown's night and he'd hit the dagger to give himself 40 points tying a playoff career high, giving the Celtics a 121-104 lead. Boston now heads to Indiana on Saturday night looking to take a dominant 3-0 series lead and all the worries in Indiana will be about the health of their star Tyrese Haliburton. If the Pacers are without Haliburton it's tough to imagine them winning more than 1 game with how Boston looked in game 2 winning decisively 126-110 .