CLEVELAND – Over the past few seasons, three things have been consistent about the Boston Celtics’ deep playoff runs: They’ve played long series, they’ve struggled at home, and they’ve excelled on the road.
It remains to be seen whether the Celtics can replace the first two. But in Saturday’s Game 3 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Celtics made sure the third would continue.
Led by a clinical defensive effort and impressive performances from stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics defeated the Cavaliers 106–93 to take a 2–1 lead in this best-of-seven series.
“We’re just trying to get a win, understanding that we didn’t play as well as we wanted to in Game 2,” Tatum said. “And it was a great test and opportunity for us to come out and respond and play better and work harder and all those things.”
According to ESPN Stats & Information, over the past three seasons, Boston has gone 14–14 in 28 home playoff games, the most played without a winning record over a three-year period in NBA history. However, in those three seasons, the Celtics reached the NBA Finals in 2022 and the Conference Finals last season, and they are favored for a deep playoff run this year, as they are 17-7 on the road.
After a disappointing effort in their Game 2 loss, which included what Brown called an “unacceptable” defensive performance, the Celtics tightened things up on both ends Saturday to secure another road win – their fifth consecutive in the postseason, the last Lasted till. Playoffs of the year.
Tatum and Brown led the effort, scoring a combined 61 points – 33 for Tatum and 28 for Brown – as the Celtics shot 51.2% from the field and 13-for-34 (38.2%) from 3-point range. ) Have become.
“I think we just need everybody to be on the same page and everybody coming out with the right effort,” Brown said. “That’s 85% of the battle right there. We come out, we work hard, and then we’re on the same page and everything else will fall into place. We have enough talent in the locker room to beat teams.” .
“But if we’re not on the same page and we’re not playing hard, that’s when we get ourselves into trouble. So make sure, before the game in film and shootaround, talk to everybody Do it, touch everybody, tell everybody that, ‘Hey, we’re not here to play.’
“We haven’t come to Cleveland for the weather, so let’s get going.”
That mentality was especially evident in Boston’s defensive intensity. Despite a stellar 33-point performance from Donovan Mitchell, the Celtics largely controlled the game by pressuring Cleveland’s remaining options.
Aside from Mitchell and Evan Mobley, who had 17 points each but didn’t have the same mobility after injuring his left foot/ankle in the third quarter, the rest of the Cavaliers scored 43 points on 17-for-51 shooting, including 5. – were involved. For 23 from 3-point range.
“I think we just didn’t hit the same shots we did (in Game 2),” Mitchell said. “For us, just being able to finish… we missed a lot of shots at the rim, including myself, missed a lot of shots that I think we just had to make. And at the same time we really played that well. Didn’t shoot 3s, but not bad percentage, but we didn’t shoot that well, so I think they’re different things and we’ve got to get our looks and take them, because if we don’t, So we’re going to go back into the crowd. And they want us to, so we can take our shots when they’re open.”
Now the Celtics need another strong performance in Game 4 to return home with a chance to end this series. Can they avoid a Game 2-like slump and give Cleveland a chance to get back into it?
“It’s the playoffs,” Brown said. “Anything can happen, especially if you come out flat. We’ve got to do a better job of that. We can’t think this series is going to go like the last series. We’ve got to come out and get a win in Game 4.” That’s the same defensive effort going on, and that’s what we need right now.”
