Celtics hold off Warriors at home to snatch 2-1 Finals lead

The Boston Celtics used balanced scoring production to pull away in the fourth quarter and defeat the Golden State Warriors 116-100 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series advantage in the NBA Finals.

In a back-and-forth second half, Golden State used a vintage spurt in the third quarter to briefly take the lead. However, Boston returned the favor with a dominant 23-11 fourth quarter.

After dropping Game 2, the Celtics improved to 7-0 following a loss this postseason.

"My message to the team was, we've done this after losses. Now we have to do it after a win," Celtics head coach Ime Udoka told reporters postgame.

Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Marcus Smart played a large role offensively, each contributing at least 24 points, five assists, and three 3-pointers. They became the first group of teammates to all tally 20 points, five assists, and five rebounds in the same NBA Finals game since 1984.

Big man Robert Williams was massive defensively, recording 10 rebounds, four blocks, and three steals.

On the other side, Warriors stars Steph Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 56 points in the loss. Draymond Green struggled to get going for Golden State, scoring just two points before fouling out in 34 minutes.

"I think I never found a rhythm, really on both ends of the floor, not enough force," said Green. "I just have to find my rhythm quicker."

The Warriors looked to get back into the game with their perimeter scoring, but the Celtics out-rebounded the undersized group 47-31 and outscored them 52-26 in the paint.

"We feel like they've been killing us on the glass the whole series," said Williams. "We wanted to just put an emphasis on that."

Boston will look to take a commanding 3-1 series lead at TD Garden on Friday night.