Earlier than Recreation 3’s tip-off, Jrue Vacation mentioned at shootaround, “we’ve simply received to carry up the depth. Extra consideration to element, particularly how guys wish to drive and get to the basket and performs they wish to make. Simply lock in just a little extra.”
Jaylen Brown echoed these sentiments. “Gotta be extra aggressive, extra ball strain, and simply total extra effort,” Brown mentioned.
Two days after shedding a demoralizing Recreation 2 at TD Backyard on Thursday, the Celtics quieted the skeptics by beating the Cavaliers wire-to-wire 106-93 in Recreation 3.
Recreation 3 opened with an ultra-aggressive Jayson Tatum scoring in transition, off sturdy drives, from behind the arc. He had twelve factors within the first quarter (5-of-9 from the sector, 2-of-4 from 3) and took almost half of Boston’s pictures.
The primary half additionally welcomed a extra assertive Vacation. Vacation has solely scored greater than ten factors in two playoff video games up to now; he had 15 with three assists at halftime.
Brown had an environment friendly 13, hitting six of his first seven pictures.
With Cleveland making an attempt to restrict threes with larger choose up factors on Boston’s perimeter gamers, the Celtics took benefit driving the ball and operating in transition. By means of the primary 24 minutes, they outscored the Cavaliers within the paint 30-18, hitting 55% from the sector.
The Celtics then opened the second half on 14-0 run, pushing the result in 23. It was a definitive, disciplined stretch with Tatum and Brown attacking the rim and paint touches producing open 3s for Derrick White and Vacation. Cleveland answered with a 9-0 run, however after the third, Boston stretched the halftime lead from 9 to fifteen.
The ultimate body began with six straight factors from the Cavaliers: A Darius Garland drive and two simple buckets for Evan Mobley in transition and off an offensive rebound. Boston and Cleveland traded buckets by way of a slog of a last quarter, together with two clutch threes from White and Payton Pritchard. With followers clamoring for a gritty win on this postseason, Gang Inexperienced dug deep. The Jays scored the ultimate 10 of the Celtics 12 factors and Boston held Cleveland to fewer than 25 factors within the second, third, and fourth quarter.
Tatum completed the sport with a team-high 33 factors, Brown had 28, and White and Vacation mixed for 30 factors on 6-of-12 capturing from 3.
The second spherical collection continues its every-other-day grind with Recreation 4 scheduled to start out at 7 pm EST Monday night time.
