BOSTON — The Boston Celtics are two wins away from Banner 18.
The Celtics, who certainly made it interesting once again, ultimately did enough when it mattered most and pulled out a 116-100 victory in Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors at TD Garden.
Boston, still undefeated after a loss this postseason, now owns a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
When the Celtics are engaged, they’re the better team. When they’re not, as showed during yet another uninspiring third quarter, they let their opponents hang around and build momentum. Fortunately for the Celtics, they were steadfast in pursuit of the ball and basket during the fourth quarter. Boston opened on a 9-2 run over the first three minutes before extending their lead to 110-96 midway through the period. The Celtics outscored the Warriors 23-11 in the final 12 minutes.
But the buy in was there at various points, too.
Jaylen Brown set the tone to the tune of 17 first-quarter points all while the Celtics came away with 15 offensive rebounds and seven blocked shots. A full-court pass from Al Horford to Brown started off the third quarter as the Warriors fell asleep in transition. And then there was the true ignitor with Marcus Smart being one of three Celtics diving for a loose ball as Boston led by a dozen in the final minutes of the fourth. It ultimately led to Draymond Green’s sixth foul of the game, which sent TD Garden into even more of a frenzy.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Jaylen Brown scored 17 of his team-high 27 points during the first quarter to help Boston take 15-point lead less than eight minutes into the contest. Brown was aggressive in his drives to the rim, specifically on Green, and finished 9-for-16 from the field. He added nine rebounds and six assists.
— Steph Curry scored 15 of his game-high 31 points in the third quarter. The Warriors sharpshooter converted on a four-point play during a seven-point possession, helping Golden State erase its double-digit deficit and turn it into a lead. He finished 12-for-22 from the field, and 6-for-11 from long range.
— Jayson Tatum scored 15 of his 26 points (9-for-23) in the second half for the Celtics. The Celtics superstar continued to show off his passing, too, with nine assists and six rebounds.
WAGER WATCH
NESN betting analyst Sam Panayotovich pointed out leading up to Game 3 how Celtics guard Marcus Smart offered some value on his point prop given his amount of shot attempts previously this season. Smart delivered on the Over 13.5 (-110) while scoring 24 points (8-for-17) with five of those coming at the free throw line.
UP NEXT
The Warriors and Celtics will return to the floor at TD Garden on Friday night for Game 4 of the best-of-seven series. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. ET.
