Celtics hang tough to grind out series lead

BOSTON－Throughout the postseason, the Boston Celtics had played their best basketball away from home.

Not anymore.

Jaylen Brown scored 27 points, Jayson Tatum added 26 and the Celtics rode the energy of a raucous TD Garden crowd to beat back another third-quarter onslaught by Golden State in a 116-100 victory Wednesday night that gave them a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals.

Marcus Smart added 24 points and helped fuel a defensive effort that held the Warriors to 11 points in the fourth quarter.

"Game 2, they brought the heat to us," Smart said. "For us, that left a bad taste in our mouth because what we hang our hat on is effort on the defensive end and being a physical team. It definitely woke us up a little bit."

Tatum said the fact the Celtics didn't hang their heads after the Warriors' third-quarter flourish is something they didn't always do in the regular season.

"I think that's when we are at our best when we respond to tough situations. We respond to teams going on runs and things like that," he said. "I think we did that several times tonight."

Boston improved to 6-4 at home, compared to 8-3 on the road this postseason. The Celtics haven't lost two straight games since the end of March.

Stephen Curry led Golden State with 31 points and six 3-pointers. He had 15 points in a 33-25 third quarter by the Warriors but was hurt late in the fourth after Al Horford rolled into his leg on a loose ball. Curry said it was similar to a play during the regular season in which Smart dove into Curry's leg but "not as bad".

"I got caught－obviously in some pain, but I'll be alright," Curry said. "See how it feels tomorrow and get ready for Friday."

Klay Thompson broke out of a finals slump and finished with 25 points and five 3s. But the Warriors' shooting couldn't save them on a night the more athletic Celtics outmuscled them for a 47-31 rebounding advantage.

"When you allow a team to get comfortable, especially in their home－in front of the home crowd, then it's tough," Warriors forward Draymond Green said.

Robert Williams III, who has been working his way back from knee surgery, finished with eight points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.

"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,"

Game 4 is Friday in Boston.

Despite Curry's noticeable limp after the play with Horford, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said it was not why he pulled him from the game in the closing minutes.

"I took him out down 14 with two minutes left because we weren't going to catch up," Kerr said.

The previous 39 times teams have split the first two games of the finals, the winner of Game 3 went on to win the series 82 percent of the time.

Feeding off the energy of a Garden crowd that jeered Green throughout his miserable night in the first NBA Finals game in Boston since 2010, the Celtics started fast and led by as many as 18 points in the first half.

Coming off a Game 2 loss in which Boston turned the ball over 19 times, the Celtics' ball movement was much crisper, which led to open perimeter shots, favorable one-on-one matchups and driving lanes.

Shoving match

Green was involved in tussles with Brown and Grant Williams in Game 2. He had another brief run-in with Williams in the second quarter Wednesday when Williams knocked Green to the ground.

A foul was called on Williams, but he and Green had a short faceoff before being separated.

In third quarter, Green wound up on the ground fighting for a loose ball with Brown. This time Green was called for the foul.

Agencies Via Xinhua