BOSTON – Once again, the Celtics saw off the Golden State Warriors in the third quarter.
And as Stephen CurryThe 3-pointer fell through the basket in 3 minutes, 45 seconds in the third quarter of the NBA Final on Wednesday night, becoming the 10-0 Golden State Run and 83-82 Warriors. A collective moan from the sold-out crowd inside DD Garden:
Let’s go again.
For the second time in the series the Celtics – with their own straw maker in the third quarter – found a way to respond to a Warriors punch in the third quarter, with Golden State scoring just 11 in the fourth quarter. Boston won 116-100, giving C a 2-1 lead in the series.
“In those moments it felt like our team was really ready,” the Celtics center said Al Harford Said. “You know, at the beginning of the year, it could have gone south faster.
“But we were right with that, locked up and continued to play without fear.”
As Harford noted, Boston has not been a team that can do it all season. But since the Celtics turned their campaign around in late January, they have proven to be incredibly flexible. Wednesday’s Game 3 victory gave Boston a 7-0 lead in the playoffs following a defeat as the Celtics have yet to lose a game back in the postseason.
Since January 23, the Celtics have gone 13-1 following a defeat.
“When we’re back in our season, I think it’s kind of like when we’re turning that corner,” Boston went on to say. Jason Tottam Said. “At the start of the season, we’re left the lead and lost games like that, but now – things are happening, okay. They’re a great team. They’ve got great players. They ‘re going to take shots. They’ re going to run. But it depends on how you respond. .
“We didn’t put our heads down or anything. We called a deadline, reunited, found it and created successful plays. For that I’m definitely proud of the team.”
The Celtics had to do it because, again in the third quarter they failed to get any traction. Golden State have now surpassed Boston by 43 points in three third quarters so far in the series as the Warriors have repeatedly turned the Celtics into knots on defense.
It is, of course, driven Stephen Curry, Finished with 31 points from 12 for 22 in 37 minutes. He scored seven points in the third quarter when he was fouled naked by Harford, scoring 3 runs. Otto Porter Jr. Another 3 beats.
A minute later, a curry lifted the 3 Golden State – bringing Boston back to its heels level.
But instead of falling, the Celtics responded. They took an 11-6 lead in the last few minutes of the third quarter and advanced to fourth. From there, the Celtics beat Golden State 23-11, keeping the Warriors in a basket for the first three minutes as Boston quickly ballooned 9-2 to double their lead.
“For me, it was ready,” said the Celtic guard Marcus Smart Said. “Keep calm. We’ve been here before. They’re a very good team. They ‘re going to go on runs, but we’ll be there too. We need to bolt down and go on our run.”
This helped Boston Robert Williams III Paint Patrol. Totem, smart and Jaylan Brown All over 20 points, five rebounds and five assists – the first three teams to achieve that feat in the NBA Final Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar And Michael Cooper against the Celtics for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1984 – Williams was the team-best plus-21 in 25 minutes, finishing with eight points, 10 rebounds, four blocked shots and a trek. .
Harford said of Williams, “He’s a game changer.” Rob is really a game changer. We were so lucky to have a guy who influenced success the way he does, because it was beyond numbers with him. It’s all the things he brings, the right places. I was very impressed with Rob, only his ability to continue to excel and learn.
“He’s learning. We talk to him, I feel like we can ask him a lot. He always takes it, he’s found it. It’s great.
As Williams has been plagued with problems on his left knee for more than two months, Williams has seen fluctuations from game to game throughout these playoffs. He underwent menstrual surgery on that knee at the end of March, which knocked him out at the end of the regular season and at the start of Boston’s first-round playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets.
He suffered a bone injury in the same knee in Boston’s second round series against the Milwaukee Bucks, thus missing the final three games of that series and the third game of the Eastern Conference Final against the Miami Heat. Since then, Williams has been in question every game – only to be wiped out in the hours leading up to Diffoff.
“It was tough,” Williams said of managing his knee. “Throwing everything away. Usually the next day after the game the pain is high and, apparently, the adrenaline goes down. But we did some weird things today and got on the bike just before the game. So I benefited.”
It was clear he was feeling better. Williams was everywhere on the field, often chasing for loose balls, flying across the track to compete for shots, and constantly found himself in the center of action.
“I’m constantly talking to Rob and I know what he’s doing,” Smart said. “He’s hurt, and even though he’s injured, he still wants to get out and help his team. But at the same time, he’s thinking about his life. As I said to him, ‘You know your body. You know what you can do. But know, we have a chance to do something better. There is no guarantee that we will come here. If you can go, we will better carry 20 per cent of you. Yours. ‘
“He understood that. He decided to go out there and put on his big guy pants and suck it crazy.”
The Celtics talked about the need to play three days between their ugly Game 2 defeat and Game 3 with more energy and effort. As Boston immediately set the tone for its physical play at both ends, the message was clear from the starting point. Boston won by 16 runs, including capturing 15 offensive rebounds, and Golden State did not allow things to speed up, making just 12 turnovers, including one in the fourth quarter.
As a result, Boston are now two wins away from the championship. After recovering from a defeat again – as well as a physical blow from the Warriors during the game – the Celtics must now do what they miss in these playoffs: Respond to victory like this.
“Another bounce-back from us,” said Celtics coach Ime Utoka. “My message to the team is, ‘We did this after failures; now we will respond in the right way after winning.’
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