Jayson Tatum proved why he belongs among the NBA’s best with a massive 39-point, six steal, six assist and five rebound performance, leading the Celtics to a 109-103 victory over the Nets in game three.
Kevin Durant once again was limited for Brooklyn, scoring just 16 points, and Jaylen Brown provided a much-needed spark in the second half as Boston took a 3-0 lead over the Brooklyn Nets Saturday night. Brown finished with 23 points of his own.
The Celtics attacked in transition, recording 25 fast break points. The NBA’s best defense forced 18 Brooklyn turnovers.
Robert Williams was active for the Celtics and came off the bench. Williams appeared in his first action since March 27 versus Minnesota, when he suffered a torn meniscus. After two straight victories, Head Coach Ime Udoka elected to bring Williams off the bench in his first game back. Williams finished with two points, two rebounds and one block.
Brooklyn leapt out to an early 12-5 lead after Durant woke up from his two-game slump, finding the open man when he was doubled and draining a three from the left wing. In the first two games at TD Garden, Durant had 12 combined turnovers and struggled to find his shots against the Celtics’ defense.
After the timeout down 12-5, Tatum scored eight straight points to bring Boston right back. Both teams jostled for positioning, then Boston used their league-best defense to go on a 7-0 run over just a minute of game time, stretching the lead to 26-20. Bruce Brown kept the Nets close, but two straight buckets from Tatum kept the lead at seven.
On the back of Tatum’s 12 first-quarter points, the Celtics led 30-25 after one. Smart led the Celtics with three assists, while Horford had two blocks, holding the Boston defense together.
The Celtics’ defense held strong to open the second quarter. Payton Pritchard made the most of his early minutes in the second quarter, hitting two shots in the paint and a step back three for the Celtics’ first…
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