The Boston Celtics defeated the Clevland Cavaliers 106-93 on Saturday, May 11, to take a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals series.
Boston was led by their all-star forward duo, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who led the Celtics in scoring, with Tatum scoring 33 points and Brown recording 28. Tatum grabbed 13 rebounds to record the game’s only double-double, and Brown was one rebound away from joining Tatum with a double-double with nine rebounds. The Celtics starters did most of the work to give Boston their 13-point victory, with only 13 points coming from the Boston bench.
C's duo in Game 3 ☘️
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 12, 2024
Jayson: 33 PTS, 12 REB, 6 AST
Jaylen: 28 PTS, 9 REB, 3 AST pic.twitter.com/0UwTCqmGCe
Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (18) and guard Derrick White (12) joined Tatum and Brown as the only players to record double-digit scoring. The four double-digit scorers for Boston accounted for 91 of the Celtics 106 points. However, the Celtics center, Al Horford, struggled from the field, shooting 1-7 from the field and 0-6 from beyond the arc, finishing the game with just two points. Horford made up for his lack of scoring by grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out two assists.
Cleveland was led by their star guard Donavan Mitchell, who tied Tatum with a game-high 33 points, with 23 coming in the first half due to six made three-pointers. Mitchell finished the game shooting 7-12 from beyond the arc, grabbed six rebounds, and recorded three assists. Cavs’ guard Darius Garland and forward Evan Mobley were the other two starters who recorded double-digit scoring, Garland with 15 points and Mobley with 17. Cavs’ guard Caris LeVert also recorded double-digit scoring, with 15 points and six rebounds off the bench, to compensate for the lack of scoring from Max Strus (6) and Isaac Okoro (2), who started the game for Clevland.
The Cavaliers host Game 4 on Monday, May 13, in Cleveland. They hope to win at home and even the series at 2-2, while the Celtics look to steal both games on the road to increase their series lead to 3-1.
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