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Celtics Wrap: Fourth-Quarter Run Propels Boston To Game 3 Victory
Boston has a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals


NESN by Sean T. McGuire

BOSTON — The Boston Celtics are two wins away from Banner 18.

The Celtics, who certainly made it interesting yet again, ultimately did enough when it mattered most and pulled out a Game 3 victory, a 116-100 verdict, in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, at TD Garden.

Boston takes a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
When the Celtics are bought in, 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 of the basket during the fourth quarter. Boston opened on a 9-2 run over the first three minutes before extending their lead to 14, 110-96, midway through the period.

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. 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 (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 19 points 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.

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I CALL THIS GAME BUILDING BLOCKS. THE CELTICS DOMINATED THE FIRST HALF BUT LOST A 17 POINT LEAD TO BE BEHIND 1 IN THE THIRD, BUT THE STUCK TOGETHER, GATHERED THE COMPOSURE AND RAN THEM OFF THE COURT IN THE THIRD!

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, BECAUSE THEY LEARNED THEY CAN STILL SCORE ON THESE GUYS AND ARE MORE ATHLETIC! THIS WILL GIVE THEM CONFIDENCE GOING INTO GAME 4.

GRANT WILLIAMS PLAYED A GREAT GAME AND COME IN WITH SOME CLUTCH BASKETS. ROBBY WILLIAMS 4 BLOCKS, 19 REBOUND AND 8 POINTS WHAT A GAME. I AM GLADE THAT IME LEFT ROBBY IN TO SHUT THESE GUYS DOWN.

STRANGLE HOLD GAME COMING UP FOR THE CELTICS, HOPE THEY CAN PUSH IT 1 MORE GAME AND CONTROL THE SERIES!

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Douchemon Green tugging on Tatum's shoulder:

https://twitter.com/ItsShake4ndbake/status/1534742821776809984?s=20&t=SL_0MgeIUzUSJfH8oEoG3A



Click on the link to see the video

Wow ex Piston Isiah Thomas ripped Draymond on NBA TV saying how can you say you weren’t ready, didn’t play with enough effort….in a game 3 of the Finals? Ripping him for arguing with Max.

Thank goodness for Robert Williams. Hoping that he is healthy and plays with the same force in Game 4.

The Celts finally looked like they figured out how to play this Warriors team. How they could take advantage of their size and physicality. I am so relieved.

From here on, it will likely be about health, the vagaries shooting and effort consistency, ball bounces and officiating.

Go Celts!

https://twitter.com/NBCSWarriors/status/1534742631019950080?s=20&t=yZ-A0irlcvZI2OrTwkvSQg



Click on the link to see the video

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1534769778082062338?s=20&t=isP2Kp6JBdpt1BoLMB7nlg



Click on the link to see the video

I think I may have found what I'm looking for. (worcester-lame U2 reference!) Something significant. And it may actually be the turning point in the series for us. Won't know until after G4, but it will come out in G4 for certain as I don't believe what I just saw. (Was that Jack Buck's call of Dodger Kirk Gibson HR who that said that, worcester?! Again, I don't watch a lot of curling.)

I know this game was at home and so will be the next one, but I believe we have figured out GSW's 3rd quarter. Now before everyone jumps all over me, look back and realize we played our brand of basketball through at least half of it. And in the end, we only gave up 8 points. This was not the blowout 3rd quarter of the first two games. And if you remember, G1 we lost that quarter by 14...but won 4th by 24. I believe Boston did about as well as we've seen to date in the 3rd. If they can do better than this in the 3rd quarter tomorrow, the series is over.

Here's what's going on. The GSW hang their hat by blowing teams out in the 3rd and taking off the 4th all the time. The Splash Brothers are so devastating in those 3rd quarters that by the fourth quarter, the scrubs are in and the game's over. That's their MO. Boston, in this series, at least in their two wins, have used the 4th quarter to bring the knockout blow. That's old school Celtics basketball. That ain't changin' either.
We win the game in the 4th. GSW, in our two wins, have 27 total points in the 4th. That's a mfin' ridiculous, Gus. (Come on, worcester...not going to give you that one!!)

Both methods are totally valid and work. All we did was show up for about half of the 3rd. Lost 8 points on our 12-point lead but we gained it back in the 4th +4 more.

We also took their best Splash Brothers response to so far. That's the best they can do....And we won. That's important and significant.

Poole was essentially a no-show. 66 points between those 3. Wiggins showed up with 18. Our bench won hands down. Grant made an appearance. Not ala G7 vs. MIL but he has a pulse now. White doing the dirty work again.

The crowd inspired me. They were unbelievable. That's a bucket list for me being there for a game with that crowd.

Our Big 3 were spectacular. Each with 24/5/5+. That's crazy. You can't ask for much more....well, actually, now yes we can. Time to address the elephant in the room.

Can we put two games together B2B on this big stage? Ktron, we capable. We're good enough to win two in a row. But will we? What do we have to do?

Well, we need to anticipate and IMMEDIATELY counter what GS is going to come out with at the start. We know what's coming from them. We have to win the 1st, 3rd and 4th quarter. We'll give them the 2nd in a draw. Even though we play well on the road, I don't like the draw for the remaining games with 2 more potentially in San Fran. That's going to be asking a little much from our guys. If we have to win two on the road, so be it, but Boston owes the fans a repeat performance at home Friday. That's all I'm sayin'. We're good enough. Don't say anything. Just do it. (worcester...last one, I promise.)

We have to anticipate Draymond and punch back even harder. He's the catalyst. We know it's coming. Act like we know it's coming. I think Ime has shown he now knows how to play Draymond and all his bs. Now we need proof we can do it two games in a row. If Ime needs to have practice where the starting 5 take on the remaining 10, then do it. Do it until they figure it out. That's what your worst defensive nightmare would look like with Draymond. THAT's what GS is going to bring in G4. Please look like we're ready for that and have prepared beyond that and that it won't take the 2nd-4th quarters to get back in the game. Otherwise, it will be 2-2 and SOS. We know very well what a G4 will look like if it's like most of the games in the playoffs we've played after a victory. Boston does not have to win B2B's from here on out, but it will require a G5 and G7 win in San Fran. Not a big fan. There are easier ways to do this. So I'd prefer we win a B2B. Here is our opportunity.

I feel I'm finally leaning toward a G4 victory by us. The great news is this will happen in Boston. The crowd needs to be on/at its top performance. We know what we look like when the wheels come off. It's not very pretty. Avoid that at all costs and do what we do best. Easier said than done.

Finally, I like IT (original) and what he was saying about distractions. IF GSW wind up blowing this series, blame Draymond for his lack of focus. What we can do is have him focused for G4, Steph and Klay bombing from 3-ville, Poole Party hittin' 3-s from half court...and they still lose. Just like last night. GS looked pretty good, had their 3rd quarter run...and still lost.

Things are piling up against GS. The opportunity is ripe for the picking. Will we put a nail or two in the coffin in G4? Let's run it.

It's a mind game for the Celtics. They have to somehow convince themselves they are down 2-1 and not actually up 2-1. That's hard when the facts are before you. Let's run it!!

db

One of the key reason we won tonight was because everyone became involved.  We did not stand around.  We had rotational ball and player movement that allowed us to create space and less contested shots. Above all we attacked the paint aggressively. Above all we ran the ball from end to end. I think we tired them out and they could not set up their defense as they did in game 2.

Well done, now bottle it for game #4!

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