BSJ Game Report: Celtics 106, Cavs 93 - Tatum, Brown, Holiday carry C's to Game 3 win

CLEVELAND -- Everything you need to know about the Celtics win over the Cavs in Game 3 of their semifinal series, with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

Jayson Tatum came out aggressive in the first quarter, scoring 12 points to out-duel Donovan Mitchell and give Boston a two point lead after one. That lead grew to nine at the half, powered by perfect 4-4 quarter by Jaylen Brown and 15 first-half points by Jrue Holiday. Boston opened the third on a 14-0 run and got 15 combined from Tatum and Brown to build their lead to 15 after three. The Cavs opened the fourth on a run, but Boston answered and executed down the stretch to hold the Cavs off, never letting the lead get below nine. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

- That's a playoff win: This is not the day to get too nitpicky about their execution. This was playoff basketball in a hostile environment. It will never be perfect, but the Celtics absorbed every punch the Cavs threw at them, made their big run early in the third, and only briefly saw it drop below double-digits after halftime. This was a good playoff win. 

- Stars step up: Tatum and Brown combined for 61 points. Brown’s 28 came on a very efficient 17 shots. Tatum needed 25 shots to get to his 33, but he started strong to set the tone while also adding 13 rebounds and six assists. 

- Jrue Holiday arrives: He finished with 18 points, 15 of which came in the first half when the Celtics needed everything from everyone to build a nine-point lead. He was huge early on while playing his usual defense. 

TURNING POINT

Boston’s 14-0 run to start the third quarter helped build their lead up to 23 at one point. And while they didn’t keep the lead there, it was too big an advantage for the Cavs to overcome. 

THINGS I LIKED

- Defense: Much better than Game 2. They only allowed 93 points and held the Cavs to 20, 21, and 24 in the final three quarters. They got back to winning the rebounding battle and they held Cleveland to less than 43% shooting. 

- Coming out of halftime hot: The Celtics took control of a tough game with that massive run to start the third. 

“JT challenged us at halftime to make sure that we were more assertive and got off to a good start in the third,” Al Horford said. So what did Tatum say? 

“Just challenge everybody, myself, the starters, we've had a tendency in the past to relax coming out of the halftime,” Tatum explained. “So just challenge the group: Can we come out like our back is against the wall? Can we make them call the first time out? Can we come on like we're down nine? We responded and we started the third quarter very well.”

That self-awareness is important, and it’s great to hear that they were able to hear that and respond.

- Jaylen Brown: He’s really stepping into a leadership role in the playoffs. 

“We just need everybody to be on the same page and everybody to come out with the right effort. That's 85% of the battle right there,” he said. “We got enough talent in the locker room to beat teams. But if we're not on the same page and we're not playing hard, those are when we get ourselves in trouble. So making sure, before the game at film and shootaround, talking to everybody, touching everybody, letting everybody know that, 'Hey, we're not here to play around.' We didn't come to Cleveland for the weather, so let's go."

"We didn't come to Cleveland for the weather" is an incredible line. 

- Derrick White: He had a rough first half, but he stepped up with a big second half, putting up 11 after halftime. That included a monster stretch in the fourth quarter where he hit a 3-pointer, came down and blocked Mitchell (which led to a Brown layup in transition), and then finished a layup to help answer a Cavs run.

Jrue Holiday: Boston really needed him to come through with a big offensive game. 

“I thought he played really well, really solid,” Joe Mazzulla said. “When he's that impactful for us, we’re a different team. … He set the tone tonight with his physicality and his defense, and really he had physical drives and got some points in the paint for us, too.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Al Horford: He played 39 minutes and spent a lot of time switching onto Mitchell, which didn’t go well. But part of me wonders if Horford took one for the team with his defense on Mitchell, accepting the switch and just dealing with the results so the rest of the guys can stay home on their assignments and not let anyone else go off. 

“We put a lot on Al. We put a lot on Al,” Holiday said. “He’s one of the most reliable players I’ve ever played with. You know that he’s always going to come through for you. We put a lot on Al but he’s built for it.”

It reminds me of Tim Wakefield taking a beating in Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS to save the Sox bullpen. It’s not quite that, but I think some of that was going on. 

- What’s a foul? I just don’t know what a foul is anymore. Guys are getting pummeled with no calls and then minor contact IS getting called on some possessions. I just don’t know when the whistle will blow anymore. 

HIGHLIGHTS

TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- I don’t know how much Donovan Mitchell has left.

He only had three points in the fourth quarter, and by the end of it, the Cavs weren’t even involving him in the offense. For a guy who was so unstoppable in the first three quarters, it’s incredibly odd that he couldn't muster some kind of shot-making. 

Unless… 

He’s been dealing with right knee soreness for a while, and he looked to be laboring hard after one play late in the fourth. Between the knee and Boston attacking him early and often, he had nothing left by the end. 

“I felt like he was a little gassed,” Holiday said. “It’s hard what he’s doing. What he’s doing is elite to put up that many points that efficiently and we’re making it tough on him. If it’s not me then it’s D-White. If it’s not D-White it’s JB. And then we’ve got Al protecting the paint and JT protecting the paint. So it’s definitely a team effort, but I think to do it how he’s doing it, it’s hard.”

The Celtics are already targeting him defensively, but they really should push that agenda early in Game 4. If he’s limited at all, they need to exploit it. 

- Tatum needs to perfect that midrange fadeaway shot

He and Drew Hanlen need to get in the lab and make that shot unstoppable. He has to become Paul Pierce with that thing. He hit a couple, but that needs to be his automatic fourth-quarter shot.  

Next up: Game 4 is Monday night at 7 p.m. here in Cleveland.