BSJ NBA Finals Game 3 Report: Celtics 116, Warriors 100 - Robert Williams, monster 4th quarter give C's 2-1 lead

Everything you need to know about the Boston Celtics win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, with BSJ insight and analysis. 

IN A NUTSHELL

Jaylen Brown went off in the first quarter, dropping 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists to fuel a great Celtics start. They played with great pace, took good shots, and defended well on their way to an 11-point lead. They built it to 18 but the Warriors used a few more Celtics turnovers to cut that lead back down behind 10 points from Klay Thompson to keep Boston’s lead to a manageable 12. Of course, that lead disappeared in the third quarter, with another Thompson/Steph Curry explosion. They roared all the way back to take a 1-point lead before a quick Boston spurt to reclaim a 4-point cushion heading into the fourth. They pushed the lead back to 11 early on and never let up after that, thanks in large part to Robert Williams' hustle plays. 

HEADLINES

Big Rob Energy: The Celtics had the first trio since the 1984 Finals with 20+ point and 5+ assist games, but when I think back on that game, I think of Robert Williams and all the little plays he made (and a few of the big ones). That's why I’m going to write about him separately later. For all the big performances otherwise, Williams was the biggest reason they won this game.

The bounce back: Celtics don’t just bounce back after losses, they win big. I know it didn’t come easily, but it’s still a 16-point win. They are now 7-0 in the playoffs after a loss. Now the question is, can they win two in a row at home to take a 3-1 lead on Friday?

Still a lot to clean up: The defensive coverages were still too sloppy for too long. They still let very dangerous guys get too loose, too often. Curry and Thompson are dangerous enough, the Celtics can’t keep gifting those guys good looks. 

TURNING POINT

The Celtics finally held off the Warriors late in the third, with Marcus Smart hitting a 3-pointer to kick off an 11-5 close to the third quarter. Add to that the 9-2 run to start the fourth and it was a 20-7 response to the Warriors' third-quarter explosion. Boston ended up outscoring Golden State 34-17 after the Warriors took a lead. 

FIVE UP

Robert Williams: The man was everywhere. Games like this come down to those 50/50 balls and Williams seemed to get to all of them, keeping some critical possessions alive in the fourth quarter. He was a formidable rim protector, not just with his 4 blocked shots, but with multiple possessions where Warriors drove and thought better of it.

Jaylen Brown: A monster first quarter set the tone, and he played some phenomenal defense down the stretch. He also had a couple of good recognition plays, including this one in transition where his hustle gave Tatum an easy assist. 

He finished with 27 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, on 56/50/83 shooting splits. 

Jayson Tatum: He had a real rough stretch where he missed a few layups -- and I’m sure there will be plenty of arguing that some of those were fouls -- but he recovered well to be part of the door-slamming fourth quarter. He finished with 26 points but also 9 assists and 6 rebounds. 

Marcus Smart: He had some bad turnovers, and I don’t want to gloss over them because I put him in the “up” category. He got himself too deep and gave the Warriors too many chances to get out on the break. All that said, his 24 points included some big-time shots. More importantly, he didn’t force any shots and was actually more of a calming point guard than he had been in the past. That had a bigger positive impact than the turnovers were negative. 

Al Horford: He had some tough moments, and he’s had a few of them guarding Curry, but he had 6 assists and 8 rebounds, including some clutch offensive rebounds down the stretch. 

ONE DOWN 

Derrick White: Honestly, I barely wanted to put him in the down, but he had a tough shooting night and was the only guy with a negative +/-. 

TOP PLAYS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- The home crowd matters, especially now

Winning Game 1 could end up being the most important thing Boston did in this series, because it gave them the home-court advantage. 

We know that hasn’t been much of an advantage over this whole run, but this might be different. 

“The energy from our fans was just contagious,” Al Horford said. “When I did my shooting slot an hour and a half before the game, and as soon as I saw that, I was like, yeah, it's going to be different tonight. They stayed with us even through that because sometimes things can get shaky.”

Everyone on the court is running on fumes at this point. Whenever this season ends, these guys are going to collapse onto a beach and disappear for a month. They have to get through the next week, and one way or another, this thing is over. 

At this point, anything that can give these guys a boost is helpful. 

“When you walk in the Garden and it's already filled while you're warming up, you definitely notice a different energy,” Tatum said. “But you can't get too caught up in that. It's still basketball. It's still a game. We're just trying to win one at a time.”

They won this one for a few different reasons. One of those, though, was certainly the adrenaline boost of playing in front of the home crowd, and feeding off the energy of good plays and runs. 

Why was Boston able to get through the third quarter and respond to the Warriors run? Part of that was certainly the boost they got from a full home arena cheering them on… and throwing a few barbs at the Warriors. 

As long as the Celtics come out and play good basketball, the home crowd will be there to give them another push when they need it. 

"I think home court is definitely an advantage, a little bit more energy in the building and things can go in your direction," Brown said. "But we lost a lot of games at home this Playoffs. So at the end of the day we've just got to come out and play basketball, whether it's in Boston, whether it's in SF or Alaska. It don't matter. We've just got to come out and play the right way."