Jaylen Brown, Celtics respond with force in Game 3 win
BOSTON — The Celtics punched again at their bullies in Sport 3 of the NBA Finals.
Boston’s 16-rebound edge on the glass was proof of a forceful response to the Golden State Warriors’ blowout victory in Sport 2, whereas Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Marcus Good mixed for 77 factors in a 116-100 victory. The Celtics take a 2-1 lead within the collection forward of a house Sport 4 on Friday at 9 p.m. ET.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 31 factors in defeat. Draymond Inexperienced, whose depth propelled Golden State to victory on Sunday, fouled out with two points and four rebounds in 35 minutes.
If ever there was a doubt the Celtics would match the vitality the Warriors introduced in Sport 2, Boston answered it within the opening quarter. The Celtics outrebounded the Warriors 16-3 within the first eight minutes, grabbing as many offensive rebounds as Golden State had altogether. Brown attacked Draymond Inexperienced off the dribble and rose over him from the perimeter, scoring 17 factors on 9 photographs earlier than the tip of the primary.
The Warriors missed eight of their first 10 makes an attempt from 3-point vary and will manufacture nothing towards Boston’s size on the inside. At the same time as Thompson heated up, the Celtics responded, discovering layups in favorable matchups towards Curry, Poole and virtually everybody Golden State threw at them. Boston doubled the Warriors’ 16 factors within the paint and outscored them by 10 on second possibilities within the first half.
Golden State made an inevitable run over a 40-second span halfway by way of the second quarter, as soon as once more making the most of the Celtics’ carelessness with the basketball. Thompson and Curry sandwiched 3-pointers round an Andrew Wiggins dunk on three straight possessions, and a minute later Curry’s layup reduce what was a 17-point deficit to 56-49 with greater than three minutes nonetheless left to play earlier than halftime.
Boston netted 5 straight and pushed the lead again to 12 on the break. It ought to have been extra. The Celtics scored 68 factors on 57% taking pictures from the sphere and 44% accuracy from deep by way of the primary 24 minutes, however turnovers continued to plague them, because the Warriors scored 14 factors off their eight miscues.
Everybody watching anticipated extra third-quarter magic from the Warriors. It didn’t come for six minutes. One possession modified all that. Curry drained a 3-pointer, and the officers confirmed Al Horford stepped into his touchdown area. The flagrant-1 foul gave Golden State a free throw and the ball. Otto Porter Jr.’s 3-pointer made it seven factors on a single journey down the ground, and Boston’s lead was trimmed to 82-80.
One other Curry 3-pointer, one other minute later, gave Golden State its first lead since Kevon Looney’s layup 17 seconds into the sport. Curry and Thompson mixed for six of the Warriors’ seven 3-pointers and 15 of their 33 factors within the the quarter, however Boston did simply sufficient to cling to a 93-89 lead getting into the fourth.
Failure to complete on the rim annoyed Tatum through the first three quarters, however he broke by way of within the closing body. He focused Curry, whose fourth foul price him sufficient aggression to open the door for Boston. The Celtics amped their protection in return and started the quarter on a 9-2 run to increase their lead again to 11.
Golden State received no nearer than eight factors the remainder of the best way. Tatum scored 9 of his 27 factors and Good added eight of his 24 earlier than Boston coach Ime Udoka pulled his starters with two minutes nonetheless to go within the fourth. When the ultimate whistle sounded, the Celtics scored 52 factors within the paint to the Warriors’ 26 and 22 second-chance factors to their 11, grabbing 4 of their 15 offensive rebounds within the fourth quarter.
Boston gained the hustle and the sport, a reoccurring theme on this collection. Who would be the bully on Friday?
Sport 1: Celtics 120, Warriors 108
Sport 2: Warriors 107, Celtics 88
Sport 3: Celtics 116, Warriors 100 (Celtics lead 2-1)
Sport 4: Warriors at Celtics, Friday, 9 p.m. ET (ABC)
Sport 5: Celtics at Warriors, Monday, June 13, 9 p.m. ET (ABC)
Sport 6: Warriors at Celtics, Thursday, June 16, 9 p.m. ET (ABC)*
Sport 7: Celtics at Warriors, Sunday, June 19, 8 p.m. ET (ABC)*
* — if obligatory
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Ben Rohrbach is a employees author for Yahoo Sports activities. Have a tip? E-mail him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or observe him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
