CLEVELAND – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Jayson Tatum recorded 33 points, 13 rebounds and six assists and the Celtics regained the lead in their Eastern Conference second-round series with a 106-93 victory over the host Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night.
Tatum’s teammate, Jaylen Brown, scored 28 points on 13-of-17 shooting and collected nine rebounds as top-seeded Boston took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Jrue Holiday added 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists and Derrick White had 12 points for the Celtics.
Donovan Mitchell made seven 3-pointers and scored 33 points for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers. Evan Mobley had 17 points and eight rebounds, while Caris LeVert and Darius Garland scored 15 points apiece for Cleveland.
Game 4 is Monday night at Cleveland.
The Cavaliers were without big man Jarrett Allen (ribs) for the sixth straight game. Kristaps Porzingis (calf) missed his fourth straight game for the Celtics.
Boston shot 51.2 percent from the field, including 13 of 34 from 3-point range. Cleveland connected on 42.9 percent of its shots and was 12 of 36 from behind the arc.
The Cavaliers trailed by 15 points before scoring the first six points of the final quarter. Mobley capped it with back-to-back hoops to bring Cleveland within 84-75 with 10:29 remaining.
Payton Pritchard and White nailed 3-pointers over the next few minutes as Boston pushed its lead to 94-81 with 6:58 remaining.
After a three-point play by Mitchell, Brown and White scored to give the Celtics a 98-84 advantage with 5:42 left.
Tatum’s fall-away baseline jumper over Max Strus made it 104-89 with 2:14 left, and Boston closed it out.
Boston led by nine at the break before opening the third quarter with 14 consecutive points.
Tatum opened the quarter with a three-point play, White added a 3-pointer and Brown followed with a layup to increase the margin to 17. White and Holiday knocked down treys to end the surge and give the Celtics a 71-48 lead with 9:06 left in the third quarter.
Mitchell hit a short jumper with 8:39 left in the third to start a 9-0 run as the Cavaliers pulled within 14 with 5:25 left. Boston thwarted the charge, and Brown drained a long 3-pointer with 20.3 seconds left to give his team an 84-69 advantage entering the final stanza.
Tatum scored 18 points in the first half as the Celtics took a 57-48 lead into the break. Mitchell had 23 in the half for Cleveland.
–Field Level Media