The Celtics nearly frittered away a 21-point fourth-quarter lead on Wednesday.
The Celtics nearly frittered away a 21-point fourth-quarter lead on Wednesday, but held on. Nobody in Boston will mind given the final result: A 106-99 victory and a 3-0 series lead over the Mavericks in the Finals.
Here are the takeaways.
1. Jaylen Brown was terrific, and he established himself as a clear frontrunner for NBA Finals MVP. He flirted with a triple-double, scoring 30 points to go with eight rebounds and assists, and he was the Celtics’ best player during a third-quarter flurry that pushed their advantage to 15 with Jayson Tatum on the bench.
Brown’s loudest highlight was this one-handed slam in the third quarter that punctuated the Celtics’ big push.
But maybe his biggest shot came with a minute left: After Dereck Lively threw down a two-handed slam and cut the Celtics’ lead back down to two, Brown buried a clutch jumper over Tim Hardaway Jr. that kept the Mavericks at bay.
Brown has reached legacy-writing heights in the postseason this year. Wednesday’s game could be a defining chapter.
2. Two enormous quarters deserve mention in the same breath.
The first was the Celtics’ third-quarter 35-19 run.
