Celtics Pull Away from Warriors to Take Game 3 at Home
June 8, 2022
The Celtics came home after a disappointing game two loss in Golden State that included a total meltdown after the half. All year long, and especially in these playoffs, we’ve seen this team bounce back, show resolve and resilience, and play their best basketball following their worst performances, and in game three they did it again. Wednesday night in TD Garden, the Celtics came out in front of a raucous crowd and took it to Golden State from the jump. Everything lacking in the second half of game two showed up very early. The Celtics were the more aggressive and intense team, and made sure the Warriors felt their physicality immediately. Desperation and urgency was apparent, as the Celtics came out in attack mode and jumped out to a 15 point lead in the opening minutes. Boston was in control for almost the entire game until the Warriors made one of their patented third quarter runs, momentarily taking the lead, before the Celtics regrouped with a dominant fourth quarter to win game three going away, 116-100, taking a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals.
Jaylen Brown led the charge early on, going right at Draymond Green and Steph Curry, looking focused, and catching fire to the tune of 17 first quarter points on 6/9 shooting and 3/4 from three to go along with 5 rebounds and 3 assists. He was the best player on the floor over the first 12 minutes, making sure he imposed his will on the game and dominating with his size and athleticism. He was making decisive drives and when Golden State helped he was firing passes to open shooters. Brown set the tone to start and his teammates took it from there. Ime Udoka made a notable adjustment that paid dividends throughout the game. He kept the usual starting lineup, but after only about three minutes, subbed Derrick White in for Robert Williams. This had multiple benefits, as it allowed the Celtics to play small and push the pace against the Warriors. But it also allowed the Celtics to come back with Robert Williams in place of Al Horford for the end of the first quarter and early second as opposed to the Daniel Theis lineups which got killed in games one and two. Rob looked as spry and healthy as he has in a long time, controlling the paint on both ends, and massively contributing to a dominant team rebounding performance by the Celtics, as they outrebounded Golden State 47-31 for the game including a massive 15-6 edge on the offensive glass. I thought the adjustment for Boston might be more small ball with only one big man on the floor, but instead Udoka chose to just mix and match his bigs differently, eliminating Theis, playing Robert Williams and Grant Williams together more, and punishing the Warriors with size, especially when they took their only true center, Kevon Looney, off the floor.
The Celtics offense was humming in the first half, as they played with pace and aggression, driving with purpose and zipping the ball around for open shots and layups. Boston poured in 68 first half points, and even as Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were able to hit some tough shots in the second quarter, the C’s carried a 12 point lead into the locker room at halftime. But then the Warriors came with their typical third quarter charge, as they started to heat up. The Celtics got a little too comfortable with their big men playing drop coverage. They weren’t rising to the level of the screens and Curry was comfortably walking into three pointers. At one point, Curry hit a three over a late Al Horford closeout. Al slid under Curry and was called for a flagrant foul and one. Curry knocked down the free throw and Golden State maintained possession, which led to an Otto Porter Jr. three. The 7 point trip cut the Celtics lead to just two and the Warriors would actually take a one point lead moments later on yet another Curry three. But this time the Celtics would respond to the Warriors run and punch back. They collected themselves and made the necessary adjustments. Marcus Smart hit a three to take the lead back the next time down and Boston would never look back.
The fourth quarter was a complete defensive clinic put on by the Boston Celtics. The Celtics big men rose up on screens to take away shots, the perimeter defenders cut off the driving lane, and Robert Williams erased the rim. The Warriors had no other answers. Golden State scored just 11 points in the entire quarter, shooting just 4/14 from the field. Offensively, Jayson Tatum took over, forcing the issue and making sure his drives made it all the way to the rim and he completed tough finishes through contact. Tatum certainly didn’t have his best game, but he was in total control and did what needed to be done on both ends. He finished with 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists while turning the ball over just twice. He never really caught fire shooting the ball, but was able to pick his spots and make big buckets when the team needed it most. After a dominant first quarter, Jaylen Brown cooled off, but still ended up with 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. After a quiet game two, Marcus Smart stepped it up and added 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. The became the first three teammates to each put up at least 24/5/5 in an NBA Finals game since 1984 when the Lakers triumvirate of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Michael Cooper accomplished the feat.
The Boston big man trio of Robert and Grant Williams and Al Horford may not have impacted the box score as drastically as the Jays and Marcus, but their impact on the game on both ends was immeasurable. Grant had 10 points and 5 rebounds off the bench in 20 minutes. He only hit 1/4 threes, but used his force to get to the rim and finish inside for some big hoops. Al rebounded from a quiet game two with 11 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists on a very efficient 5/7 shooting. Robert Williams was able to hold up for 25 minutes and contributed 8 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 3 steals. Rob was an X-factor for the Celtics in this one and was able to hold up moving around and looking springy as ever. This version of Rob unlocks a completely different element for Boston that allows them to smother teams with size and athleticism. The Warriors simply do not have the personnel to handle the explosiveness that Williams III can provide, and that showed up time and again. Rob deserves a ton of credit along with Udoka. After two games it was unclear how much Rob would be able to add to this series, and I thought the Celtics may be best suited leaning into more small ball. But instead Derrick White played only 23 minutes off the bench, including sitting for the final 19 minutes of the game. The Celtics played with two bigs on the floor for the entire fourth quarter and the Warriors looked like they didn’t know what hit them.
For Golden State it was another episode of the Steph Curry show. Curry poured in 31 points on 12/22 shooting and 6/11 on threes. He was brilliant, finding inches of space and making the Celtics pay with some of the quickest releases you’ll ever see. Klay Thompson was finally able to find some openings and hit some shots as well, to the tune of 25 points on 7/17 shooting. But beyond some stretches of hot shooting, Boston was able to shut the water off. Draymond, Looney, and Jordan Poole were virtually non-factors, after each having a large game two. They got 18 points on 7/16 shooting from Andrew Wiggins and that was just about it in terms of offense for the Warriors.
Now the Celtics are back in the driver's seat, holding a 2-1 series lead in the NBA finals with two more games at home. Boston defended TD Garden in their first opportunity in 12 years, but will have to do so again on Friday night to keep control of the series. Meanwhile, the Warriors will surely be a desperate bunch and come out with renewed urgency, knowing that a 3-1 deficit is close to insurmountable. In game three the Celtics bounced back from a loss yet again, improving to a ridiculous 7-0 in the playoffs following a loss. The challenge now is to maintain that level of urgency coming off a win. The Celtics have made a habit of taking their foot off the gas when things seem to be going well and that’s something they cannot afford to do again. If they can keep their level and come out focused on Friday night they can take a commanding lead in this series and give themselves three opportunities to close things out and win a record, 18th NBA title.
Ben Handler