The heightened stage of the NBA Finals hasn’t been too big for the Boston Celtics’ core group of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart, all newcomers to this environment.
And the young troika made a little bit of finals history with their superb all-around efforts in Boston’s 116-100 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 on Wednesday night at TD Garden.
Tatum, Brown and Smart became the first trio from the same team to register at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in a finals game in nearly 40 years, according to ESPN Stats and Info. The last group of players to accomplish the feat was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Michael Cooper of the Los Angeles Lakers in 1984.
Brown led the Celtics in scoring with 27 points on an efficient 9-for-16 shooting to go along with nine rebounds — second most on the team after Robert Williams — and five assists. Brown set the tone not only with his willingness to help out on the glass, but also with his 17-point first-quarter explosion.
Tatum followed Brown’s lead by notching 26 points and continued to showcase his playmaking skills with nine assists, including a sensational pass to setup Payton Pritchard for a 3-pointer.
Smart was right behind Tatum and Brown in scoring with 24 points while grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out five assists. Smart, who had some agonizing turnovers, did bank in a key 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to help the Celtics begin to pull away.
Another strong performance from Tatum has kept him as the favorite to win the NBA Finals MVP, as he has +105 odds following Game 3 to take home the award, per DraftKings Sportsbook.
But Tatum won’t be able to triumph over the Warriors alone and getting major contributions from Brown and Smart will still be needed going forward. The trio looks to lead the way again for the Celtics in Game 4, which is scheduled to tip off Friday at 9 p.m. ET at TD Garden.
