By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) — Friday night’s Game 3 against the 76ers was a lot more uncomfortable than the previous two games for the Celtics. But Boston made the plays it needed to in the end, closing the game on a 10-0 run and escaping with a 102-94 victory over Philadelphia.
Boston now owns a commanding 3-0 series lead, and can send Philadelphia home on Sunday.
Kemba Walker led the charge for Boston with 24 points, including eight straight for the Celtics during a key stretch in the third quarter. Jaylen Brown added 21 points and seven rebounds in his 42 minutes, making up for an off night from Jayson Tatum.
Tatum never really looked comfortable after picking up three fouls in the first quarter. He sat for the entire second quarter, and finished with just 15 points on 6-for-19 shooting. He went just 2-for-9 from three-point range. But while he struggled offensively, he continued to play solid defense, and came up with four blocked shots.
And as he tends to do, Marcus Smart made the biggest play of the night, swiping a pass late to start a coast to coast drive by Brown, who was fouled as he put in his layup. The bucket and ensuing free throw gave Boston a 95-94 lead, and started that 10-0 closing run for Boston.
HUGE PLAY. pic.twitter.com/1jCi05C9Wa
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) August 22, 2020
That was one of the many Marcus Smart plays in the win, as the pesky guard came down with eight rebounds and three steals to go with his 14 points.
“I’m glad he’s on my team, I’ll tell you that much. Man, he is so special,” Walker said of Smart. “Defensively, he’s just a monster and willing to take on any challenge. He’s willing to do anything it takes to win a basketball game and you need a guy like that. He’s our glue guy.”
Walker added to Boston’s late lead with a nice step back jumper with 1:05 left, one that looked an awful lot like his famous game-winning step back against Pittsburgh in the 2011 Big East Tournament.
sent him skating ⛸️ pic.twitter.com/xRsXGN5wab
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) August 22, 2020
Walker’s shot looked the best it has in the Orlando bubble, with the guard hitting 10 of his 20 shots. He added eight rebounds and four assists to go along with his 24 points.
Philly stayed in the game by crushing Boston on the offensive glass, pulling down 20 offensive boards, including eight by Tobias Harris. Joel Embiid finished the night with 30 points and 13 rebounds for the 76ers, who shot just 29.6 percent on the night.
It was a resilient win for the Celtics. Philadelphia never went away and tried to out-muscle the Celtics throughout. But the Celtics kept pushing back, and came up with more winning plays in the game’s final minutes. It was a grind and it wasn’t pretty for long stretches for Boston, but the Celtics stole a win in the end.
Boston will look to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals with a Game 4 win Sunday afternoon. Tip off for that tilt is set for 1 p.m.
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Celtics Come Up Big Late, Push 76ers To Brink With 102-94 Game 3 Win - CBS Boston
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