NBA Finals: Boston on Top, Beats Warriors in Game 3, 116-100

The Boston Celtics kept their break in the NBA Finals, beating the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 last night, 116-100. For the first time after twelve years, TD Garden was the venue of one Finals game, and it felt good for the fans. Their team won, put the pressure on the guests, and has a lead at the moment.

Home-court advantage suited the Cs well, and they were pretty good in the opening half, reaching up to 18 points of advantage. They were controlling almost every aspect of play and didn’t allow the guests to feel comfortable.

Though, the hosts had a few empty minutes in the third sequence, and Golden State immediately used that. Especially impressive was a seven-point possession play, when Steph Curry scored four points following Al Horford’s flagrant foul, and later, Otto Porter Jr’s three-pointer. It would bring back the Warriors, who were up 83-82.

Yet the Cs responded well in the final period, scoring 23, but allowing only 11 points. When needed the most, their defense was there to stop Golden State and solve the game.

“We talked about it quite a bit, our group being resilient and being able to fight through a lot of things and at times when it’s most needed being able to lock down on defense,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said. “We did in the fourth quarter.”

The Celtics forced 17 turnovers, having 12 themselves, and they also had 47 boards, while GSW recorded 31, six of them offensive. On the other side, the Cs had 15 boards in attack, which was a difference-maker. When Boston has these two categories under control, the rivals are usually not winning.

The home side had a balanced offense, with their top three players all delivering 24 or more points. Jaylen Brown had 27 buckets with nine boards and five assists, hitting four threes, and once again having a high shooting percentage, 9-for-16.

Meanwhile, Tatum had 26 points and nine assists, with six boards playing 41 minutes. Marcus Smart scored 24, securing seven rebounds and adding fice dishes, but also has a very good role on the defensive side in critical situations.

Boston’s big boys did their job well, Horford 11 points, eight boards, six assists; Robert Williams III, eight points and 10 boards with three steals and four blocks; while Grant Williams scored 10 points off the bench.

Klay Thompson on the crowd in the Garden tonight:

“We’ve played in front of rude people before, dropping F-bombs with children in the crowd. Real classy, good job Boston.”
pic.twitter.com/9Lb420aPcI

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) June 9, 2022

On the other side, Klay and Steph would end the night as the Warriors’ top scorers. Curry had 31 points, but picked up an injury after Horford rolled over him. The two-time NBA MVP was limping, though he stated that it wouldn’t be a problem for him to start game three.

Klay had 25 points and was pretty disturbed by how spectators at the TD Garden behaved. He and the head coach Steve Kerr had some remarks on that at the press conference.

“Dropping F-bombs with children in the crowd. Real classy. Good job, Boston,” Klay added.

Andrew Wiggins was the only one who tried to help the Splash Brothers, having 18 points with seven boards, playing 40 minutes, a team-high among the Warriors. Jordan Poole had 10 off the bench.

Game 4 is also in Boston, where the Cs haven’t lost a game in the finals for the last 38 years. If, by any chance, the host win, they will be one step away from the NBA title.