Jayson Tatum scored 33 points, Jaylen Brown added 28 and the Boston Celtics looked more like themselves after stumbling at home, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-93 on Saturday night in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Jayson Tatum scored 33 points, Jaylen Brown added 28 and the Boston Celtics looked more like themselves after stumbling at home, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-93 on Saturday night in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The top-seeded Celtics didn’t mess around after dropping Game 2 on their home parquet floor by 24.
That lackluster performance — Boston was favored by double digits — was reminiscent of the first round, when the Celtics lost Game 2 against Miami before winning three in a row to eliminate the Heat.
“We just wanted to bounce back,” said Tatum, who added 13 rebounds. “Disappointing loss the other night, coming into a hostile environment on the road. It was a good test for us to see how we respond.”
Tatum scored on a three-point play and the Celtics opened the second half with 14 straight points to take a 23-point lead.
That was way too much for the Cavs, who overcame a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter to stun Boston in March.
