As I sat in the corner of the parquet, two cameras in my lap, cross-legged in front of the who’s who of Boston in the front rows, I had an amazing view of the Celtics do-or-die Game 5 juggernaut.

And the fans almost lifted the roof off the place.

Charlie Baker, sitting directly behind me with his wife, fist-bumped me as the three-pointers rained down. To my right was former Celtic great Paul Pierce laughing and enjoying the accolades from the fans around him as he siped a cocktail from a straw.

To my left is David Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports sitting stoically with his model-like girlfriend at his side.

I became well aware of the Heat’s confidence seeing them strut their stuff as they warmed up just before the game — but that bravado soon disintegrated.

Just before tipoff, Jimmy Buttler walked over to my corner in enemy territory to fist-bump a young woman sitting in one of the lavish floor seats. Glaring at the Celtics fans, he took to center court, grabbed the basketball from the referee, tested it by squeezing and bouncing it, then gave it back.

Then it happened. Seconds after tipoff the Celtics exploded! The passes were lightning-fast and bullseye accurate. Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown were diving for balls, ignoring the probable demise of their superhuman athletic bodies.

Jason Tatum was effortlessly hitting threes and Derrick White was not missing a shot. The crowd erupted! The deafening sound coming from the Garden felt as though the building was rocking as the Celtics continued to dominate the Heat by not only their offense, but their cutthroat, do-or-die defense. Baker and his wife were on their feet along with thousands of others screaming with pure joy as the Celtics went ahead 10 points then 20.

Seeing the Heat crumble right before my eyes as the hometeam clung to life is something you witness only once or twice a season.  After the game ended Charlie Baker gave me a big double high five and said, “See you back here (on Monday)!”

The Celtics beat the Heat 110-97 and head back to Miami for Game 6.

– Persian Proverb

Move over cherry, there’s a new berry in town.

Thousands of cherry lovers throughout the Bay Area make their way each spring to one of dozens of U-pick farms in Brentwood for the plump, juicy round fruits, but now – for the first time – there’s another option that is arguably just as sweet: the Himalayan purple mulberry, which looks a bit like an elongated blackberry with tiny clusters of fruit.

Not only is Habitera Farms the only one allowing visitors to partake in the picking of the tasty, dark-colored fleshy fruit — the season lasts about eight weeks — but it appears to be the only business selling mulberries on such a large scale commercially in the United States.

Habitera’s organic Very Mulberry business opened for its first U-pick season on May 13, and by all accounts, it has been a great success, according to Harvest Time spokeswoman Nancy Mai. Mai’s marketing company helped promote the unusual fruit and also promotes the other farms in the nonprofit farming organization.

“Opening weekend was phenomenal,” Mai said. “It was beyond the owners’ expectations.”

Farm founder Anil Godhwani of Fremont counted some 500 visitors the first day and another 700 on Mother’s Day, including a 100-year-old Chinese grandmother who recalled climbing mulberry trees in the 1930s and 1940s in China, where the fruit originated.

RELATED: Pick-your-own cherries season has arrived in the Bay Area; here’s where to go

Godhwani thinks the mulberries were a hit because many people from around the world are familiar with them from childhood.

“People have had mulberries, whether it’s in the United States from a tree in the backyard or a neighbor’s yard,” he said. “Be it Turkey, China, India, Pakistan, Russia, Europe or even South America.”

Godhwani said on the first weekend they met visitors who hailed from some 30 different countries all waxing nostalgic about the glorious mulberry and “how much they had missed it.”

Co-founder Smita Sadana encouraged Godhwani to follow his dream to reintroduce mulberries to the public. A financial investor in the farm, along with Godhwani’s brother, Gautam, who also is a co-founder, she said she understands why the mulberry is so popular.

“Mulberries, the way I look at it, are a very easy-to-love fruit,” she said. “It has a really nice taste, it has a very incredible texture and it has a consistent taste.”

A native of Punjab in Northern India, Sadana grew up eating mulberries or “shahtoot” as they are called in Hindi – the same variety at Habitera – plucked fresh from the tree. Godhwani, who grew up in Delhi, also recalled pilfering the tasty berries from his neighbor’s tree. And while there are many ways to eat them – in baked goods, smoothies, chutneys, jams and more – both of them recall simply enjoying them fresh.

“Every year when these mulberries would come, we would share it with friends … it is the most incredible fruit,” Sadana said. “We would stop eating all the other fruits just to accommodate the mulberries for the eight to 10 weeks they are here.”

Godhwani liked mulberries so much that 15 years ago he planted his first tree in the backyard of his Fremont home. He would later plant six more as well as three Himalayan white mulberry trees along with other fruit-bearing trees.

A lover of fresh fruits and vegetables, Godhwani often traveled to Brentwood farms on spring weekends, mainly for cherry and apricot picking, even sometimes renting 55-passenger buses to transport family and friends – just for fun.

“Brentwood was an area I was familiar with; I had gotten to know the farmers,” said Godhwani, who works as a serial entrepreneur.

The Fremont businessman said he was thinking about starting a farm and began researching options with Sadana and others in 2015. That took them to UC Davis, where they tasted some of the 100 varieties of mulberries that exist.

“We got a chance to taste a lot of mulberries and let me tell you, all mulberries are not alike, from cotton puffs – tastes like you’re eating a puff of cotton – all the way to Himalayan mulberry that tastes incredible,” Sadana said.

“So, we wanted to get a mulberry, which has nutritional benefits, but it also has a taste benefit,” she said.

A few years later, Godhwani learned that 84 acres “with really good soil” was up for sale in Brentwood in 2018. He was hooked but before he could plant anything, he had to choose the variety.

“This is the one we fell in love with,” Godhwani said of sweet purple mulberry. “Because it’s exquisite, its taste and flavor. It’s known as the Himalayan Mulberry.”

Also called the Pakistani mulberry – it appears on both sides of the border between India and Pakistan – the Himalayan proved to have a pleasing sweetness yet a hardier skin so it is easier to transport than some other varieties, the cofounders said.

As for the nutritional value, the mulberry is known for its high levels of iron and Vitamin C, and high concentrations of the antioxidant anthocyanin, thought to combat coronary heart diseases.

“It’s also full of resveratrol (antioxidant), like red grapes, but have way more resveratrol, which is great for anti-aging,” Sadana said.

Godhwani planted the first 10 acres of Himalayan mulberries in 2020, added 60 acres the next year and more in 2022 to fill out his 84-acre ranch, as well as six additional acres he leases nearby. The trees, which are largely drought-resistant, start producing small amounts in the second year but don’t become economically viable until year three, Sadana said.

The bulk of the trees were propagated from cuttings off the original mulberry tree in Godhwani’s backyard, and they “are doing fantastic,” he said.

“It takes about four or five years for the tree to be fully mature,” Sadana said. “When our trees are fully mature, we are probably looking at a million-plus pounds every season.”

With few farmers out there growing mulberries, most doing research and development — and none to the extent of Habitera — the Brentwood entrepreneurs had to get inventive with much of the operation, including deciding how to get the juicy fruits off the trees, which can grow more than 50 feet tall.

Their innovative techniques to harvest the berries include a pushcart they loosely modeled after the Rehri cart Indian street vendors push around. The farm’s carts are pushed close to the trees and one person gives the branches a shake with a pole, causing the ripe fruits to fall down into an attached netting.

“The beauty is that when you shake the tree during the two-month season and give it just the right amount of shaking, 90% of the mulberries that drop on the nets are ripe ones, which is wonderful,” Godhwani said, noting they are shaken manually every other day during harvest.

Last year, the farm also hired Luis De la Garza as general manager, a 10-year veteran of the berry industry. “He brought with him a wealth of knowledge not just about farming, but specifically about berries,” Sadana said.

In addition, they hired 10 high school students to serve as U-pick guides and assist visitors in finding ripe fruits.

“We’ve got lots and lots and lots of mulberries on those 60 acres,” Godhwani said. “So, when people came this past weekend, they absolutely loved it.”

In addition, their mulberries, including both purple and a limited number of white mulberries, are sold at area farmers markets and soon at online direct-to-customer sites, GoodEggs.com and SayWeee.com.

With​ the difficulties ​of ​shipping the delicate fruits long distances, for now Godhwani considers 99% of his market to be the greater San Francisco Bay Area, but he said he might consider going to other areas down the road.

“It’s early days for us right now because we want to learn more about how to grow mulberries commercially​ — successfully and profitably​ — but our longterm goal very much is to really be a catalyst to reintroduce mulberries to America,” he said.

Habitera Farms, at 501 Hoffman Lane, is open for U-pick on weekends, with the mulberry season usually lasting through late June. For more information, go to www.verymulberry.com.

“As priests we must cultivate a shepherd’s heart filled with compassion and empathy,” said Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Boston.

“People will be open to receive the message of the Gospel from priests if we can show them that we care about them. If we are priests of empathy and compassion like Jesus and the Good Samaritan, only then can we be effective messengers of the Good News of the Gospel.”

Those ordained on Saturday morning were:

Father Paul Born, 31, born in Boston and raised in Stoneham. He graduated from Boston College in 2013 with a degree in finance, according to the Archdiocese. He worked in New York City as a financial analyst at Barclays before entering St. John Seminary in the class of 2023. He served a diaconal assignment at St. Mary, Waltham.

Father Jose Ignacio Montero Burgos, 30, born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where he attended schools, according to the Archdiocese. He is an alumnus of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Brookline. He has been serving his deacon assignment at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish, East Boston.

Father Rodrigo Martinez, 32, born in Metapan in Santa Ana, El Salvador, where he attended elementary school. He moved to Boston to attend Mildred Avenue Middle School in Mattapan, and then East Boston High School. He graduated from Providence College with a degree in philosophy in 2019 and then entered St. John Seminary as a member of the Class of 2023 and served in parishes in Stoughton during his deacon year.

Father Peter Schirripa, 30, born in Mountain View, Calif. He graduated from St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., with a degree in history and secondary education, a degree he put into practice by teaching at his middle school alma mater, Jonas Clarke, Lexington, before entering St. John Seminary as a member of the Class of 2023. His deacon year was at St. Mary of the Annunciation Parish, Cambridge.

Father Alphonsus Hien Quang Vu, 35, born in Ha Noi, Vietnam, where he attended local schools including college at Ha Noi Open University. He is an alumnus of St. John Seminary and has been serving his deacon year at St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Winthrop.

At 76, uncompromising filmmaker Paul Schrader wraps up his trilogy on men confronting their pasts. Meanwhile, the third — and sadly final — season of one of TV’s best contemporary crime series — “Happy Valley” — hopes to save the best for last.

But as great as they are in considerable ways, each has an issue with sticking the landing.

Here’s our roundup.

“Master Gardener”: Is it possible that Paul Schrader, the gifted and cranky screenwriter of the seminal “Taxi Driver” and auteur of other gritty downer films, has gone soft on us? You might come away feeling that’s the case after watching this final installment in his unofficially connected trio of features about men wrestling with past deeds and misdeeds. And OK, this isn’t as dark as “First Reformed,” the best film in that three-pack. But “Gardener” is an at-times thrilling eyebrow-raiser about the troubled, seemingly mild-mannered horticulturist Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton) reckoning with past crimes after getting involved with his employer’s volatile great-niece Maya (Quintessa Swindell), who is of mixed race. Their growing attraction doesn’t sit well with the manipulative, ultra-rich Mrs. Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver, in a deliciously sinister performance), who hides a racist soul and toys around with Roth, whose racist past remains tattooed on his skin. The relationship between Haverhill and Narvel is twisted, to say the least. But it loses something because the relationship between Narvel and Maya seems utterly improbable, and that’s a huge problem — bigger than the film’s strange wrap-up. It’s a bummer given how tremendous Edgerton and Weaver are, and how effective, in a skin-crawling way, the film’s first hour remains. Details: 3 stars out of 4; opens May 18 in theaters.

“Happy Valley Season 3”: One of the best mystery/thriller series going delivers the intensity in its third and final season. Unfortunately, it stumbles near the finale, speeding through and forsaking the resolution of a new murder so it can get to the chewy stuff —  the psychological tyranny that a rapist and murderer exerts on Sergeant Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire, in a volcanic performance). Given this is the final season, it’s not that big of a deal-breaker — partly because each season has been leading to the moment where the convicted father (James Norton, in his best performances to date) of Cawood’s 16-year-old grandson (Rhys Connah) gets tied to another murder. If you haven’t seen the first two seasons, you’ll no doubt be lost. But this gritty British crime series tops its many American counterparts. I just wish there would have been one more episode to wrap up that other crime. Details: 3 stars; premieres Monday on Acorn TV, AMC+ and BBC America with a new episode each week.

“It Ain’t Over”: So many sports docs seem intent on celebrating their main subject, all but touting them for sainthood. Sean Mullin makes a similar but lower-key pitch here, and the result is a home run in a field often flush with loud fouls. “Over” focuses on the lovable late New York Yankees star catcher Yogi Berra, with the assistance of his granddaughter, Lindsay Berra, who also serves as an executive producer. She helps keep the focus Berra’s brilliant baseball career, both as a player and manager, as it fosters fondness and respect for an Italian-American World War II veteran who came up with so many endearing, if nonsensical, sayings. Nothing about “It Ain’t Over” is rote or superficial. It’s about a legend who defied the odds, as well as the snotty comments from sports journalists, and earned the respect of his peers on his way to earning 10 World Series rings. It’s a must for any arm-chair sports fan. Details: 3½ stars; in theaters May 19.

“Joyland”: Director/writer Saim Sadiq’s debut feature created an uproar in Pakistan, his homeland, where it was banned at first and then was permitted to be shown on its way to being shortlisted for best international film at the Oscars. Sadiq’s fierce family drama is a passionate outcry over a culture that adheres to strict gender stereotypes and won’t allow anyone to color outside of lines. Ali Junejo’s performance ranks as one of the finest you’ll see in any year. He plays Haider, who is in a dispassionate arranged marriage with the restless Mumtaz (Rasti Farooq). He hides from his traditional and ailing father (Salmaan Peerzada) and his more masculine brother (Sohail Sameer) his love to dance, a profession he pursues at a club where he’s hired by transgender choreographer/dancer Biba (Alina Khan, in a breakout performance). As Haider and Biba spend more time together, a connection forms that shakes up Haider’s world. Sadiq depicts the evolution of this vulnerable relationship with care and in the film’s final moments delivers a sequence that’s an emotional game-changing beauty. Details: 3½ stars; opens May 19 in select theaters.

“Clock”: There’s a tremendous horror film gestating in writer/director Alexis Jacknow’s dark take on a single woman’s (Dianna Agron) trouble-plagued, none-too-pleasant journey toward reluctant motherhood. But it gets too cluttered up with a family subplot rather than remain focused on the issue at hand — Ella Patel’s nightmarish time meeting the brilliant Dr. Elizabeth Simmons (Melora Hardin) who is spearheading new experimental treatments. Agron throws herself fully into the role and the first 45 minutes of Jacknow’s disturbing commentary works wonders, but it strays and winds up losing its punch near its end. Details: 2½ stars; available now on Hulu.

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.

The hotspot for culture, wine, scenery and all that sinfully delicious food shows off its two very different sides in two very different movies.

First up comes the “traditional” tourist tour of Italy in the form of “Book Club: The Next Chapter.” The second is aimed for the more epic adventurer wowed by the Italian Alps, where “The Eight Mountains” is set.

Which is the better film? Read this week’s roundup to fine out.

“The Eight Mountains”: What a shame it would be to watch Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch’s breathtaking beauty on an itty-bitty screen. It’s a visual feast that all but declares: Go to the movie theater already! The soul-stirring cinematography of Ruben Impens is matched by the epic storytelling about two boyhood chums in Italy and their bond that strengthens and shifts over the years. Both directors take care in replicating the evocative, pared-down crispness of  author Paolo Cognetti’s award-winning 2016 novel, which serves as “Mountains” basis.

The decades-spanning film opens with an uncertain Milan boy named Pietro summering in the nearly deserted and remote Grana village where he soon befriends the gregarious, adventurous Bruno, whose father is a brutish bricklayer. Over the years, the two take different paths —  the wandersome Pietro (Luca Marinelli) all but extricating himself from the family fold while Bruno (Alessandro Borghi) remains in Grana and carries on the family tradition.

They eventually reunite amidst events that shake up their lives and their friendship, as they encounter adversity and love, and have their own perceptions challenged.

At nearly 2½ hours, “The Eight Mountains” is in no rush to tell its story, but the time is well spent, allowing us to soak up the sweeping natural beauty of those mountains. It’s staggering to take it all in; so is the profundity of this story about two flawed individuals who develop a once-in-a-lifetime friendship that shapes both of them. Details: 4 stars out of 4; opens May 12 at the Kabuki in San Francisco and expands into more theaters including the Smith Rafael Film Center on May 15.

“Book Club: The Next Chapter”: The Italian Tourism Bureau should express deep amore to Bill Holderman for directing this congenial but tepid sequel to the surprise 2018 hit with the terrific Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen. It’s too bad that, given the talent and scenery on display, there’s not much else to admire. In “Next Chapter,” the quartet of friends travels to Rome, Venice and Tuscany on a whirlwind bachelorette party (Fonda’s steadfastly single character Vivian is the one walking down the aisle). Minor road bumps occur — stolen luggage, a surprise encounter with an old flame and an ooh-la-la hot cop — and all of it breezes by as if you’re spending a tipsy day under the Tuscan sun. While the four leads are game and the screenplay hints at something more substantial to say by framing it around Paulo Coelho’s classic “The Alchemist,” the dialogue is overstuffed with predictable laugh-track-ready one-liners — some come across as flat as week-old uncorked prosecco. Even the charms of Don Johnson and Andy Garcia as love interests get sidelined in a production that fails to take full advantage of the scenario or the stars. Details: 2 stars; in theaters May 12.

“BlackBerry”: How did the first smartphone, the one everyone expected would rule the world, rise to the top and then crash to the ground like Icarus? Matt Johnson’s pitch-perfect feature jauntily shows us what went right and then wrong with the BlackBerry, from its kooky, nerdy origins to its ascendancy and, ultimately, its demise. It all makes for a massively entertaining ride with two main actors steering the action, and one just stealing the entire movie. Glenn Howerton triumphs as tantrum-prone Canadian businessman James Balsillie, who carves out a huge slice of the company pie and shouts and bellows with the best of them. His confrontational style of business is the very antithesis of founder Mike Lazaridis (played well by Jay Baruchel), an OCD brainiac with techie know-how. Filled with great period details and told in a docudrama-like way, “BlackBerry” is simply irresistible. Details: 3½ stars; in theaters May 12.

“1,000% Me: Growing Up Mixed”: W. Kamau Bell, a media bright light, best-selling author and Bay Area treasure, drops in on local mixed-race families to chat about how they define themselves and how others perceive and try to define them. The responses prove to be thoughtful, heartwarming, incisive and, since kids are often the ones responding, quite funny and on pointe. While it’s just shy of an hour, it raises — as does all of Bell’s work — important points and issues that hopefully will spark even further conversations. Details: 3 stars; available now on HBO Max.

“Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie”: Director Davis Guggenheim (“An Inconvenient Truth”) takes a frank, energetic and creative approach that mirrors the standout qualities of its subject — the lovable sitcom and movie star Fox. His scrappy early days in Hollywood and his battles with fame, booze and ego along with his love for his wife, family and living in general come across in Guggenheim’s account, with the actor staring straight into the camera and talking about the realities of having Parkinson’s Disease and how he tried to hide from others that he had it. It’s a revealing documentary about a man who was once one of the busiest actors in Hollywood who has learned in transition to appreciate the loved ones around him even more. Details: 3½ stars; available May 12 on Apple TV+.

“The Restless”: Belgian director Joachim Lafosse debunks the average drama dealing with mental illness, being less touchy-feely about the topic and burrowing into what it is like to be bipolar and be with someone who is bipolar. As Damien, an artist and father of one, Damien Bonnard is painfully authentic, showing an acceleration of emotions and tearing into one family’s fabric. Refusing to take his medication and putting others in risk, Damien’s frenetic actions wear down his wife Leila (Leila Bekhti), who has been down this road probably one too many times. “The Restless” never sanitizes what this family is confronting, and by doing so, rips your heart out and provides no easy solutions. It’s a remarkable work that never rings false. Details: 3½ stars; available exclusively on Film Moment Plus.

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.

The Red Sox, Oakland Athletics, Atlanta Braves — and even the New York Yankees! — were all there, but significantly shorter than one would imagine.

That’s because these players were part of the little league versions of the teams — specifically, members of the South End Baseball League, which celebrated its opening day with a parade.

The players started out in uniform at around 10 a.m. at Villa Plaza on West Dedham Street before making their way over to Peters Park for a ceremony from 11 a.m. to noon before the season truly took off with a game between the A’s and the Yankees at 12:30 p.m., with Mayor Michelle Wu and City Council President Ed Flynn on hand to serve up some opening pitches.

In all, five games were scheduled between Peters Park and Jim Rice Field.

As humans took to the water, like those taking part in a boat race in the Lower Basin of the Charles River in Cambridge, a Canadian Goose took to the land. And perhaps for a t least one, the location was a bit off.

The Herald spotted one proud future parent build a nest just inches from Soldiers Field Road in Boston.

Winthrop Police and Fire received the first reports of fire at the apartment building at 91 Veterans Road at 12:18 p.m. Friday. At the scene, the building was surrounded with heavy smoke and flames were visible.

“Crews worked aggressively to extinguish the fire and struck a fourth alarm calling additional mutual aid to the scene. Multiple residents were entrapped and have since been safely rescued from the building,” the agencies wrote in a joint statement later that day.

Some residents were transported to local hospitals, though authorities none were thought to suffer life-threatening injuries.

In all, about 110 people were displaced and were receiving assistance from the Red Cross.

Other survivors include at least one dog seen at the scene named Petey.

Emergency crews shut down Shirley Street, which runs parallel to Veterans Road, as well as the cross street, which is Hadassah Way to the west of Shirley and Coral Avenue to the east of Shirley.

Mutual aid was provided by the fire departments of Lynn, Chelsea, Malden, Saugus and Revere, according to the Winthrop Police and Fire statement. The State Police and Port Authority assisted at the scene.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

“Superblooms take place in some desert climates after unusually wet winters, when typically dormant seeds and plants wake up,” Mindy Sink wrote for the Denver Post. “The result, especially in California and Arizona, can be hillsides carpeted in color as thousands of flowers pop open around the same time.”

Photographers around the West are capturing stunning images of the blooms, from Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve in Lancaster to Carrizo Plain National Monument near Santa Margarita in California. A recommendation? Take your Instagram photos from the trail to avoid trampling the flowers.

Contributing: Mindy Sink, Denver Post; Getty Images

They were lazy on offense. Jaylen Brown committed three turnovers in the opening minutes. Their defense – which was so good in Game 1 – was an open door. The Celtics were expecting a strong Hawks response and they got it.

But when Joe Mazzulla turned to his bench, everything changed. The deepest team in the NBA showed itself again, even if Mazzulla has only gone eight deep to start the playoffs. Robert Williams, then Malcolm Brogdon entered the game and the Celtics went off and running. After falling behind early, the Celtics ripped off a huge first-half run and never looked back as they took complete control of their first-round series with a 119-106 Game 2 victory.

Jayson Tatum scored 29 points – including five 3-pointers – and some big buckets down the stretch as the Celtics held off several rallies from Dejounte Murray and the Hawks. It was his supporting cast that spurred the C’s to a commanding 2-0 series lead.

The Celtics have shown off their depth all season. They have players on the bench who could start for most teams elsewhere in the league. And that’s all come together this season because they each embrace their roles.

“We have a bunch of guys that don’t really care that want to win,” Mazzulla said. “We’re in a window now where everybody’s willing to put everything aside to want to win and I’m grateful for that.”

No group on the Celtics may exemplify that more than their three-headed guard trio of Marcus Smart, Brogdon and Derrick White, who were all instrumental in this Celtics victory. White scored 26 points and seven rebounds. Smart, after rediscovering his defensive form in Game 1, made several hustle plays. Brogdon – who filled up the stat sheet with 13 points, eight assists and seven rebounds – changed everything.

The C’s trailed 22-11 when Williams checked in, and moments later, trailed by nine when Brogdon came in. Soon, their deficit evaporated. Williams ignited a 17-3 quarter-ending run that was capped when Brogdon banked in a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from halfcourt that gave the Celtics the lead for good.

“I pulled up because I thought (the defender) wasn’t going to stop me and luckily it went in,” Brogdon told NBC Sports Boston.

The Celtics ended the first half by outsourcing the Hawks 50-27 – led by Brogdon’s six helpers – as they turned an 11-point deficit into a 12-point halftime lead. They extended their lead in the second half by being the more physical team and returning to their defensive identity. On one sequence midway through the third, Williams blocked a layup attempt from John Collins, who got it back. But then Al Horford helped and blocked another attempt as they wrestled the ball away.

On the next play, Tatum found Horford for a corner 3-pointer that pushed the Celtics’ lead to 20.

The Hawks made a run – using a seven-point spurt from Murray – to cut their deficit to single digits and trailed by eight in the fourth quarter twice on Bogdan Bogdanovic triples. But White punched back each time. He hit a 3-pointer to make it a 13-point game with 6:33 to go, then after Trae Young stole a pass for a breakaway layup, White found Tatum for a 3-pointer. White then made a layup and two free throws in the span of 40 seconds to restore the lead to 14 as the Celtics sealed Game 2.

Even with the Celtics’ short bench so far in these playoffs, White’s play exemplified the strength of their roster – how dynamic their depth is beyond Tatum and Brown.

“That’s the beauty of being on a great team, being able to have multiple threats out there, to be able to play the game different ways and win in different ways,” Brown said. “Tonight was an example of that. D-White just exploded. On any given night, it can be anybody. You just have to encourage that. I tell D-White all the time, be aggressive, be confident.”

The Celtics may be up 2-0 in this series on the strength of two double-digit victories, but they’re far from satisfied. After committing 17 turnovers in Game 1, they had 14 more in Game 2. They surrendered 19 offensive rebounds to the Hawks on Tuesday. They haven’t been sharp on the margins that Mazzulla always preaches.

As they head to Atlanta for Games 3 and 4 this weekend, they know there’s still plenty of room for improvement.

“We took a great shot from Atlanta tonight,” Brown said. “I thought we responded well by moving the ball. Different guys stepped up and made plays and that’s what we’re gonna need in the playoffs. Now going on the road, we gotta take that same mentality and look to be aggressive in a tough Atlanta environment.

“This is a part of the journey. Two games up is great taking care of home. But being able to win games on the road is gonna ultimately make you a championship team. So this is the first test and I’m looking forward to it.”