The Boston Celtics have regained the lead in their Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Cleveland Cavaliers after a 106-93 triumph in Game 3 at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Sunday (PHL).
The top-seeded Celtics were fueled by Jayson Tatum's 33 points and Jaylen Brown's 28 points as they bounced back from a horrendous showing in Game 2.
After a rather close first half, Boston started the third quarter with a 14-0 scoring spree, extending its lead to 23 points. This ultimately fueled the team to secure a comfortable lead over Cleveland for the remainder of the game.
Despite Cleveland's response with a 9-0 run, Boston managed to stretch the halftime lead from nine points to 15 by the end of the third quarter.
The Cavs managed to further narrow the gap to nine points three times in the fourth quarter, but the Celtics, who struggled with their three-point shooting in Game 2, redeemed themselves with consecutive 3-pointers from Payton Pritchard and Derrick White to thwart the comeback.
Keeping the fight going 💪 pic.twitter.com/uOYZHNSc17
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 12, 2024
Despite Donovan Mitchell's team-high 33 points, the Cavs simply couldn't replicate their success from Game 2, where they won by 24 points in Boston.
Mitchell managed to sink seven of his 12 3-point attempts, but the rest of the Cavs struggled, going 5/24 from beyond the arc.
Evan Mobley contributed 17 points, while Darius Garland and Caris LeVert each added 15 points for the Cavs, who lost for the first time at home in these Playoffs.
Once again, Cleveland was without starting center Jarrett Allen, who sat out his sixth consecutive game due to a rib injury.
Meanwhile, Boston center Kristaps Porzingis remained sidelined for his fourth consecutive game due to a calf strain.
Game 4 is set on Tuesday (PHL time) still in Cleveland.
