Jaylen Brown led five Boston Celtics in double figures Friday night with a game high 23 points, to give the Boston Celtics a commanding 3-0 first round NBA playoff series lead with a 104-96 win over the Indiana Pacers in game three at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Boston used a 41 point first quarter to open as much as a 15 point lead to take a 41-28 lead after the opening 12 minutes. Indiana turned the tables in the second quarter however outscoring Boston 33-18 to take a 61-59 halftime lead. The Pacers had got back even on a Tyreke Evans three pointer with 5:06 left in the second, and the lead again for the first time since early in the first when Wesley Matthews nailed a three with 1:24 left.
Boston regained the lead on a Jayson Tatum turnaround jumper with 7:20 left in the third at 65-64. Indiana had then taken a two point lead, and the game was tied at 71-71 before the Celtics went on a 9-2 run to end the quarter up 80-73. The Pacers got within two points several times in the fourth quarter, but that as close as they would get as the Celtics iced the game late from the foul line.
Brown added seven rebounds to his game high point total including 4-5 from three point range. Kyrie Irving had 19 points, five rebounds, and 10 assists. Tatum finished with 18 points and seven rebounds. Al Horford had 16 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Marcus Morris added 11 points and seven rebounds. Evans led seven Indiana Pacers in double digit scoring with 19 points. Bojan Bogdanovic had 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Myles Turner had 13 points and seven rebounds. Domantas Sabonis added 12 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Matthews and Thaddeus Young had 11 a piece, and Darren Collison chipped in 10 points.
Boston will go for the four game first round sweep on Sunday afternoon in Indiana at 1 pm.
