Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Marcus Smart all scored over 20 points a piece on Wednesday night, as the Boston Celtics regained the series lead in the NBA Finals with a 116-100 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 at TD Garden in Boston. Boston, playing in the first Finals game in Beantown in almost exactly 12 years, now leads the best of seven 2-1.
Boston came out on fire in the first quarter in front of the sellout crowd, hitting 12-22 from the floor. Brown put in 17 points in the opening 12 minutes, as the Celtics led by as many as 15 on three different occasions and 33-22 after one. The lead went to 18 in the second on a Tatum three-pointer with 6:27 left, before the Warriors went on a 13-2 run in a span of just under three minutes capped off by a Steph Curry layup to slice the deficit to 56-49. Boston was able to finish the first half strong building it back to a 14 point gap, and after scoring just 88 points in a Game 2 loss the C’s had 68 at the break and a 68-56 advantage.
As they have done the entire playoffs, Golden State had another big third quarter to get back into the game. After a Tatum three-pointer made it 82-71 Boston, the Warriors scored 12 straight points including a seven point possession when Curry got fouled on a made three-pointer and Al Horford was called for a flagrant foul for landing in the shooters landing area. Curry made the free throw and then Otto Porter Jr. also knocked in a three-pointer on the same offensive series. Curry made another one from long distance about a minute later to give the guests their first lead since it was 2-0 at 83-82. Smart dialed one up from the arc to regain the lead for good for the green, and it was 93-89 headed to the fourth. The Celtics began the final period on a 9-2 run to make it 102-91, and the lead never got below eight the rest of the way.
Brown would lead the way with 27 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. Tatum finished with 26 points, six rebounds, and nine assists. Smart put in 24 points, along with seven rebounds and five assists. Horford also contributed 11 points, eight rebounds, and six assists and Grant Williams got into double figures with 10 points and five rebounds. Boston outrebounded Golden State 58-39, including 15-6 on the offensive glass. Robert Williams III also did a great job protecting the rim and paint scoring eight points, but also adding 10 rebounds and four blocked shots. Brown, Tatum, and Smart become the first trio to score 20+ points, and also have at least five rebounds and five assists in an NBA Finals game since 1984 (Lakers- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Michael Cooper). Curry led all scorers in the loss with 31 points (6-11 three-pointers). Klay Thompson had his best game of the entire playoffs adding 25 points, while Andrew Wiggins chipped in 18 points. Draymond Green, who fired up the Celtics with his style of play in Game 2, fouled out late with just two points. Game 4 is set for Friday night in Boston with tipoff shortly after 9 p.m. The C’s are now 7-0 this season in playoff games after a loss.
