Celtics beat Warriors 116-100 in Game 3 of NBA Finals, take 2-1 series lead behind furious fourth quarter rally

BOSTON — The Boston Celtics fought back from a furious second half rally from the Golden State Warriors and won Game 3 116-100 on Wednesday night at TD Garden. Boston’s win gives them a 2-1 series advantage in the best-of-seven NBA Finals

Jayson Tatum led the way for Boston with 26 points and a team-high eight assists while Jaylen Brown added 25 points and nine rebounds and Marcus Smart had a big bounce back game with 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the victory. Stephen Curry scored a game-high 31 points while Klay Thompson snapped out of his shooting funk to chip in with 25 points in the setback.

The Celtics were in complete command of the game early on, opening the game with a 12-4 run before pushing their lead to as many as 15 points in the opening frame. Jaylen Brown was front and center in building the early advantage, scoring 17 first quarter points on 6-of-8 9 shooting while also grabbing a team-high five rebounds in the frame.

The Celtics pushed their lead to as high as 18 in the first half and headed into intermission in control of the game with a 12-point lead after shooting 57 percent in the first half and 44 percent from 3-point range.

The Warriors clawed their way back into the game behind the shooting of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in the third quarter. The duo combined for 25 of the Warriors’ 33 points in the frame, knocking down six 3s that helped erase Boston’s double-digit lead and even gain their first lead of the night in the closing minutes of the frame.

The hosts managed to fight back though, re-asserting control of the game with a 9-2 run at the start of fourth quarter aided by a number of reckless Warriors turnovers and strong work on the offensive glass by Rob and Grant Williams. The Celtics were able to ride advantage to the finish line pushing their lead to double digits, as their defense slowed down the Warriors in the fourth after a scoring onslaught in the middle two quarters. Golden State managed just 11 points in the final frame.

The Celtics will look to take a 3-1 series advantage in Game 4 on Friday night at TD Garden at 9 p.m. ET.

Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.